


Love Like You

by w0nderwriter



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Post-Kingdom Hearts III, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-09-14
Packaged: 2020-03-14 17:17:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18952519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/w0nderwriter/pseuds/w0nderwriter
Summary: "If I could begin to be half of what you think of me, I could do about anything. I could even learn how to love."In which Vanitas is hopelessly dragged into therapy by his brother and discovers a newfound fascination for the nice, quiet receptionist with a frightening amount of darkness in her heart.





	1. King of Manipulation

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU that takes place three years after the events of Kingdom Hearts 3. I do not own any of the characters besides the ones I've made up, including Juniper, Alluka, and Mina.
> 
> Please note that Mina is an OC from my Riku fic titled "The Great Divide". All you need to know about her is that she's apart of the Destiny Islands gang and she is responsible for maintaining the balance between light and dark. This does NOT technically make her a guardian of light like Sora, etc., but she is still heavily associated with the light.

   This had to be some kind of fucking joke.

   He had been through all kinds of absolutely fucked up shit before this. He had entered this world in excruciating pain,  _which tends to happen when you're forcibly ripped in half_ , and he continued to face that uncomfortable pain with every pathetic breath he took for the rest of his dreary life.

   Darkness swirled throughout his core and buzzed the tips of his fingers. He walked the many faces of the world with a permanent grimace, scowling at anyone who tried to so much as  _breathe_  in his general direction. Even after he had  _for some strange reason_  been taken in by his (quite literal) better half and surrounded himself with light following the end of the second Keyblade War, he couldn't just  _change_. How could he?

   He had done things he shouldn't have been proud of in his eventful life. He had been the hand to stitch madness into the universe, creating chaos like it was a reflex. When death came knocking at your door, he was always the one waiting outside. It wasn't his fault, technically. For fuck's sake, he didn't know any better!

   But he was never the type to explain that not-so-minor detail to others. Why should he? He was beaten into a menacing, ruthless, cold-blooded monster. He had been tortured psychologically, physically, and mentally for his entire life. His brain had been wired by the hands of a savage beast. He wasn't supposed to want others to understand him. He didn't care if anyone  _did_  happen to understand him. Frankly, he wasn't supposed to care about anything at all other than himself, and he was perfectly fine being that way.

   But there Vanitas was, standing before the glass doors to yet another therapist's office. This had to be some kind of fucked up joke. That had to explain how he was standing there.

   It should be known that he didn't want to be there. It wasn't even his idea. Well, that's not true. As a matter of fact, it  _was_  Vanitas's idea to start visiting a therapist, but let it also be known that he said it as a joke to his brighter, but rather dim-witted half, Ventus and his friends. Let it  _also_  be known that Vanitas doesn't consider any of those freaks of light his friends. He didn't care about them and he never would. He hardly tolerated Ventus at all!

   Vanitas had only actually agreed to start meeting with a therapist just to get Ventus and his friends to shut up anyway. He figured he'd just see one therapist, convince everyone that he was beyond being saved (which he definitely was), and move on with his life.

   But then Ventus somehow managed to drag him to another therapist. And another. And another. And another. You'd be surprised at how many therapists exist when you can travel between worlds with ease. Vanitas sure was (but he'd never admit it out loud).

   "What number is this? Five?"

   Staring up at the building with his hands shoved into his pockets, Vanitas shrugged. "I think six," he admitted.

   The blonde girl beside him seemed to be looking up at the building in the same manner. She couldn't hold in her sigh. "How long do you think this one will last for?"

   "Eh... Maybe two sessions? What do you think?"

   "I dunno," she admitted. "I have a good feeling about this one."

   "You said the same thing about therapist number two, you know," pointed out Vanitas.

   The blonde released a quiet chuckle, somewhat amused. Mina had been apart of the little group of heroes that Vanitas fought a few years ago. As the Great Divide, she was responsible for keeping the universe's balance between light and dark. She had been the first after Ventus to agree that Vanitas should join their little family rather than casting him away. Vanitas had assumed it was because a part of Ventus, the former owner of the Great Divide prior to being ripped in half, would always be apart of Mina's heart. Or, perhaps it was because it was the darkness in their hearts calling to one another, given that half of Mina's heart was made up of pure darkness and the other half was pure light.

   "Number two was nice," Mina argued. She brought her gaze down from the building to the taller boy beside her. Her radiant brown eyes locked onto his blank face. "It was just a coincidence he died. You liked him. I could feel it." Vanitas just rolled his eyes. "So... are you nervous?"

   The question caused Vanitas to pull his attention from the building to the girl. He wore a look of disbelief. "Seriously?" he replied, monotoned.

   Mina shrugged. "I don't know! What does Ven usually say to you when he takes you to these things? Does he give you a pep talk? Give you drugs? Honestly, I have no idea," Mina momentarily rambled. Vanitas scoffed.

   Typically, it was Ventus who took Vanitas to every single therapist appointment. It was mostly to reassure himself that Vanitas wouldn't skip out on it. However, this time, in particular, Ventus had been pulled away by another priority that couldn't be ignored. The only other person Ventus know Vanitas could somewhat tolerate was Mina, which was how she had been assigned the role of dropping him off.

   "You're pretty shit at this."

   Rolling her eyes, Mina pressed her hand against his back and pushed him forward. Vanitas was significantly bigger than Mina. He was extremely muscular, practically the same stature as Terra—another friend of Ventus and Mina. Point being, he made Mina look like a small child, but her undeniable strength from her training over the years seemed to at least get him to shuffle forward.

   "You're annoying."

   "Yeah? You're not exactly rainbows and sunshine either, princess," Vanitas retorted.

   Mina shook her head. "I'm here for Ven. I'm here for Ven," she mumbled under her breath. Truth be told, the two still didn't like each other very much. Tolerating one another was, at best, a start.

   Vanitas pulled open one of the glass doors for himself, not bothering to hold it open for Mina as she trailed after him. They entered the building soundlessly. Quiet conversations of the few that were inside merged together with the rumbling hum of the air-conditioning system. Vanitas lazily glanced around at his surroundings, making a mental note of the nearest exits while Mina made a beeline for the front desk.

   Vanitas seemed to take his time in joining the blonde. He knew that Mina had a habit of making friendly conversation with just about anyone, and the receptionist of this building was no exception. It was something she and her non-biological brothers, Sora and Roxas were famous for.

   After the second Keyblade War, everyone had settled down back into his or her lives slowly, but surely. Mina, Sora, and Roxas seemed to struggle the most out of everyone. Mina had lost her parents, along with Sora, whereas Roxas didn't have a family like the two of them once did. Therefore, it only made sense that the trio came together as one family unit, especially given their strong relationship with one another.

   Eventually sauntering forward, Vanitas spoke up, cutting into Mina's conversation with the receptionist. "Are you done flirting with every person you see?"

   Mina bit her tongue. "I was just asking Juniper, here, about Dr. Bright and her work," the blonde explained matter-of-factly. "Turns out, Dr. Bright's her mom."

   "No shit," Vanitas replied, obviously not very interested in the topic. He leaned against the counter carelessly, nearly knocking over a small cylindrical container of pens.

   "Mhm," hummed Mina. She knew he didn't care about this information, and frankly, neither did she. But maybe if Mina showed interest in the place, Vanitas would follow suit? It was a long shot for sure, but Mina had always been a believer in unlikely chances outweighing expectations. "What are the odds?" Mina glanced back at the receptionist. "I think you're the first receptionist we've seen that's our age. Maybe this time Vanitas won't leave complaining about being stuck with old people like he has for the past few months."

   Vanitas rolled his eyes again. His gaze seemed to naturally fall onto the quiet receptionist as she hummed lightheartedly. His piercing golden eyes narrowed, beginning to inspect the girl as he did with most people he encountered.

   Mina was right. Every office he had walked into consisted of old people working the front desk; however, this time, a youthful face peered up at him. She was their age.

   The receptionist had light brown hair that was chopped at the edge of her collarbone, reminding Vanitas of a baby deer. Her face was pale and decorated with a few faint freckles. They weren't very noticeable unless you looked closely. Her rosy lips were pulled into a small smile, feeding into how she was the spitting image of a stereotypical angel. But when Vanitas got to her eyes, he was taken aback.

   Her eyes were, of course, normal eyes. They were big and round. A pale shade of grey painted her irises. Beneath them were dark circles she had clearly attempted to conceal with makeup, failing not too miserably. Her eyes were... they were just... they looked so... so... What was the word for it?

   Her eyes were empty. The gaze was familiar to Vanitas in a way he couldn't describe in simple words. He recognized the desolation in her orbs, but how? Why? In what would could such a girl obviously full of light hold such a vacant gaze in her eyes?

   Growing uncomfortable under his hard stare, the receptionist cleared her throat and glanced over at a computer screen. She straightened her posture after realizing she had been slouching. "Vanitas, right? You're a little early for your appointment, but I can see if Dr. Bright will take you now," she insisted.

   Vanitas just stared at her silently, the gears in his brain very obviously turning. The silence that fell between the three was awkward, which was why Mina decided to speak up. "Yeah, that would be great!" the blonde chirped. She flashed one of her famous, crooked smiles at the receptionist. "Thanks, Juniper! Or should I call you Ms. Bright?"

   Juniper was now standing. She shook her head. "Mm, no, Ms. Bright is my mother, after all," she said. Her voice was soft, velvety even. "Juniper is fine. My friends call me Juni if that's more comfortable for you." She glanced back at Vanitas, her smile faltering only slightly. "I'll, uh, I'll be right back. Feel free to have a seat in the meantime."

   With that being said, Juniper turned around and walked away without another word. Mina hummed, keeping her stare on the brunette. "She seems nice," commented Mina. She looked back at Vanitas, who had a focused look in his eyes.

   "There's something weird about that girl."

   "Huh? Don't be silly, Vanitas," insisted Mina. She wore a teasing tone to her voice as she added, "Just because you think she's cute doesn't mean she's weird."

   Those words seemed to cause Vanitas to snap his head in the blonde's direction. He instantly smacked the side of her head, causing Mina to groan in annoyance. "How fucking dull are you?" he snapped. "I don't think she's  _cute_. I'm telling you facts. There's something off about her."

   "Sexual attraction is common! Stop being weird," Mina argued quietly so as to not attract too much attention. This was hard to successfully achieve, especially after Vanitas hit her head again. "Ow! Stop hitting me!"

   "I'm just trying to get you to stop dreaming, princess," Vanitas sneered. "Listen, I know you don't want to believe me, but just look at her. She's oozing darkness."

   Mina arched an eyebrow. "Are you kidding? I could literally see the light shining off of her. You'd think spending so much time with us would make you a little less stupid."

   "Right, like  _I'm_  the stupid one."

   "You—"

   "Ahem." The sound of a girl clearing her throat stopped Mina before she could continue. Vanitas and Mina glanced over at the sound, spotting Juniper. She stood with an amused expression as she leaned against a door in order to hold it open. "Sorry to interrupt, but Dr. Bright will see you now."

   Mina gave Vanitas a smug glance. "Maybe you should ask her for her number," Mina whispered with a snicker.

   "You're such a freak," Vanitas coldly muttered before unhappily walking toward Juniper.

   Vanitas quickly realized after seeing the receptionist again that Mina was right...  _again_. Juniper was radiant with light, but that haunting look in her eyes captivated Vanitas. He silently peered down at her, trying to figure out how it was possible for someone so full of light to hold such a strong darkness deep within. The eyes truly were the windows to the soul.

   Vanitas was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he hardly managed to hear Juniper say, "Right this way." She guided him over to a small room with a clipboard pressed against her chest. Now that he was by Juniper's side, Vanitas noticed how small she was in comparison to him. "I just have to run some tests to check your vitals. Is that okay?"

   "Whatever," grumbled Vanitas. He plopped himself down onto a chair, pressing his back against it. He observed silently as Juniper grabbed an object he had seen in previous therapist offices. "So what's your deal?"

   Juniper seemed to freeze, probably because she hadn't been expecting such a question. She turned around with the item in her hands, a puzzled expression on her face. She resembled a deer in headlights. "Huh?" she innocently replied. "This is a sphygmometer. It's to check your blood pressure."

   Vanitas rolled his eyes. "Cute," he sarcastically commented. "You know what I mean."

   "I'm afraid I don't," Juniper deflected. "Relax your arm for me please."

   "Are you even qualified for this sort of thing?" he sharply wondered despite sticking his arm out for the girl.

   "Something tells me you already know the answer," mentioned Juniper, "otherwise you wouldn't be so willingly listening to me."

   "Who says I trust you?" Vanitas barked back with a calm voice.

   "No one," simply said Juniper.

   Vanitas bit his tongue. She was right.

   Acting obediently was a rare sight for Vanitas, but that had to be because he couldn't wrap his head around the girl's internal fight between light and darkness. What could be so bad in her life that she had a battle to fight anyway? This girl seemed like a normal person, as far as he could see, at least. Vanitas, again, was so caught up in his thoughts that he hardly noticed the cuff wrapped around his toned arm.

   "So," started Juniper, "how long have you and your girlfriend been together?"

   Vanitas nearly leaped out of his skin. "GIRLFRIEND?" he repeated, instantly howling with laughter. The outburst caused the quiet girl to jump in surprise. He threw his head back as he laughed. "That bitch  _wishes_  she could be that privileged! Whew!" He continued to manically chuckle. "You're funny, Jennifer."

   Eyeing him cautiously, the receptionist corrected, "It's Juniper." Vanitas dismissively waved his free hand.

   The brunette furrowed her eyebrows together at the black-haired teenager, intrigued. Of course, Juniper knew who Vanitas and Mina were. It was kind of hard not to at this point. The seemingly endless battle between light and dark wasn't exactly a secret. It was in all of the papers. It was all the news seemed to talk about for months, even after Master Xehanort and Organization XIII had been struck down for the second time. Hell, even three years after the second Keyblade War ended, people would whisper in awe upon seeing the heroes of light in person if they were graced with the opportunity.

   And now that the Great Divide and infamous prince of darkness were standing before her, Juniper almost didn't know what to do with herself.

   When Vanitas joined the heroes of light, people were shocked until it was clear he was only sticking around for... Well, truth be told, no one knew why exactly Vanitas was stubbornly seeking shelter (or whatever it was) with the denizens of light. After all, he had fought alongside Master Xehanort and the darkness for so long, not to mention he still walked with darkness to this day. It was perplexing to think about. Juniper had her theories, but she knew it wasn't any of her business.

   Really, she was just curious to know why Vanitas was seeking out therapy in the first place. She figured it was because of the unstoppable darkness that resided in his heart, but the greater question at hand was: Why now? What prompted him to do so? How the hell did he even find his way to his mother's office?

   So many questions... so little time...

   "What the hell are you looking at, hm?"

   Juniper flinched slightly, realizing she had been staring at Vanitas rather than writing down his blood pressure on the clipboard. She knew that he was unfiltered and frankly a bit of an ass, but... this was beyond anything Juniper was expecting when she saw him walk through the doors not too long ago.

   "I'm just... thinking," Juniper admitted.

   "About?" pressed Vanitas.

   Juniper shrugged as she glimpsed down at her clipboard. She scribbled the numbers of his blood pressure briefly. "Nothing interesting," she declared.

   "Liar."

   The comment caused Juniper to pause. She arched an eyebrow, feeling almost challenged by the boy she had only seen in newspapers and on TV. He was pushing her. It wasn't much, but it was enough for an observant girl like Juniper to notice. "Yeah? What makes you think so?" lightly quizzed Juniper.

   Vanitas merely shrugged. There was a sly smirk on his face. "I'm the King of Manipulation."

   Juniper continued to record more information regarding his vitals onto the clipboard, not even batting an eye as she replied. "It's not manipulation if I have no ulterior motives. It's merely a matter of what I feel like saying, whether it's truthful or not, especially to a stranger," mentioned the brunette. "Besides, there are no kings or queens around here, I'm afraid." She looked up at the boy with a sweet smile on her face. "Just me."

   Vanitas cocked an eyebrow upward, attempting to analyze her words. He had never heard something so true, yet so false at the same time.

   Juniper wasn't sure what to think when Vanitas fell silent. She knew him and his history of meddling with the worlds, evoking nothing but chaos unto them. He was a dangerous man, someone not to be messed with. Juniper couldn't help but let her ego and big brain get in the way of her common sense sometimes. She was just lucky he didn't straight up murder her for talking to him like... well... an equal. That was what she had done wrong, right?

   "Dr. Bright will be with you shortly," Juniper finally added.

   Vanitas furrowed his black eyebrows together, wrapping his head around what she had said. He had never been intrigued by common folk, especially in worlds he didn't care about; however, there was a curiosity boiling from within Vanitas that he couldn't shake off. As Juniper silently exited the office, Vanitas scoffed.

   He was sure he'd get bored of his thoughts surrounding that strange girl soon enough.

    _Hopefully_.


	2. Flair for the Dramatics

   Vanitas should have known better than to think someone named Dr. "Bright" would be bright.

   Dr. Alluka Bright was supposedly one of the best in the expansive world of therapy and psychology. Her name was attached to the recovery stories of many, including some of the former members of Organization XIII. As a matter of fact, Vanitas had been personally recommended to Dr. Alluka Bright by Ienzo, formerly known as Zexion. However, Vanitas should have known better than to think anyone could help him whatsoever, even if Dr. Bright was some worlds-famous therapist.

   "Was she really that bad or are you just exaggerating like you always do?"

   Ventus was giving Vanitas a pointed look, almost as if to prove that he knew his darker half like the back of his hand—which he did. The two sat at the dinner table back in the Land of Departure with Mina, Aqua, and Terra later that same day.

   "I don't exaggerate," hissed Vanitas, slouching in his seat. He passive-aggressively pushed his food around with his metal fork. "She was a fucking lunatic! She's seriously batshit crazy! She didn't even  _try_  to get to know me. She just jumped straight into personal questions! She tried to actually justify her actions by saying it's easier to confide in someone you don't know. What kind of bullshit is that? That's something only a sick, motherfucking sociopath would say, which is a lot coming from me!"

   Ventus just shook his head disapprovingly at the boy who looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel. "You've done this six times now, Vanitas," he reminded. "That's  _normal_."

   Ventus had miraculously convinced Vanitas to come home with him, Terra, and Aqua back to the Land of Departure three years ago after the second Keyblade War ended. He believed that Vanitas wasn't completely lost to darkness and that he could be a hero like the rest of them. Of course, Vanitas had always stubbornly shot down the idea. However, ever since he opened his mind to therapy, Ventus was convinced Vanitas could change for the better.

   "I met Dr. Bright after their session," Mina spoke up. She had been invited to stay for dinner as a form of gratitude for managing to take Vanitas to his therapy session today. Normally, she resided on Destiny Islands with Sora, Roxas, Riku, Naminé, and Kairi. "She was really cool. She was everything Ienzo said she was—intelligent, put together, nice. Vanitas, here, is just pressed because of the receptionist."

   With a mouthful of food in his mouth, Terra wondered, "Was it another old lady?"

   Aqua narrowed her bright blue eyes at him. "Who taught you your table manners?" she teased. Terra glanced over at the blue-haired heroine with a sheepish look on his face, making sure to swallow fully.

   Terra and Aqua had taken the longest to accept Vanitas into their lives. Even now, they were skeptical of him, but if he had managed to stick around for three years, then maybe he wasn't a total lost cause.

   Mina shook her head. "No, actually," revealed the Great Divide. "She was our age. I think Vanitas thought she was cute."

   Ventus, Aqua, and Terra seemed to share the same genuine look of shock on their faces. "Huh!?" Ventus shouted, practically choking on his food.

   "Is that even possible?" Terra wondered to Aqua, who seemed to shrug unsurely.

   The look on Vanitas's face was convincing to anyone that he was seconds away from brutally murdering Mina. "I'll kill you one day," Vanitas fiercely threatened.

   "I'd like to see you try," Mina badgered before glancing back at the others. "Her name was Juniper. Apparently, she responded to one of Vanitas's little ego-trips."

   "That's not—"

   "Really?" interjected Ventus with a satisfied smile. "I like her already."

   Vanitas sat there with a tightly clenched jaw. He couldn't believe Mina was just blatantly  _gossiping_  about him to everyone! Vanitas was convinced he was going to murder her or bash his own head in if she didn't stop now.

   He banged his fist on the table, causing the tableware to clang together. "It's not fucking true, so shut the hell up," Vanitas snarled. Mina rolled her eyes as he shot her a menacing glare. Everyone seemed to be used to Vanitas's temper tantrums by now. "That chick was weird, I'm telling you. There was something seriously fucked up about her. I'll prove it to you at the next session."

   An uneasy silence fell amongst the Keyblade bearers. Mina, who seemed to have already known this information, soundlessly took a sip of her water. Ventus stared at Vanitas with eyes so wide they might as well have popped out of his head.

   "You signed up for another session?" Ventus asked after their moment of silence, having to take it in. He failed to hide his excitement. "You signed up for another session  _without_  me having to push you for it?"

   Vanitas shrugged. "I just wanna figure out what's up with that freak. Consider it my new mission since it's been incredibly dull around here," he answered with an edge to his voice. "As soon as I'm bored, I'm getting the fuck out of there and far away from Dr. Bright before I end up killing her myself." He flashed a menacing smile at Ventus. "See, I  _have_  changed, dear brother. The old me would've killed her the second she got on my nerves."

   Ventus shook his head, unable to bite back the proud smile on his face. Sure, Vanitas had chosen to schedule another session at Dr. Bright's for unrelated reasons, but he did it without Ventus having to push for it. Vanitas made the decision all on his own. That meant he was making progress, right? That meant all of the shit Ventus and Vanitas had been through was starting to become figments of the past, right?

   Perhaps Ventus would have to thank this receptionist personally, for even though Vanitas thought she was weird, she was weird enough for him to actually want to go back to therapy. That was all that mattered, wasn't it?

 

**[ - ]**

 

   Juniper was on edge by the end of the day, and it didn't help that she was going home to a dark apartment.

   Today had been a strangely eventful day. It was so strange that her nerves had been inflamed all day long. Firstly, Juniper had woken up an entire half-hour prior to her alarm going off, which  _never_  happened to her  _ever_  considering Juniper wasn't a morning person. Then, her mother decided to give Juniper a raise out of nowhere despite her receptionist gig being a part-time job. Her journey to Dr. Bright's office consisted of not one, but  _two_  near-death experiences—one involving a car that ran a red light and nearly knocked her down, and the other involving a homeless man shooting up heroin in an alleyway. Well, the second incidence wasn't actually a near-death experience, but Juniper was pretty convinced he was seconds away from killing her and stealing her cash in the process to buy more drugs. Between those two experiences, Juniper was given a free bagel with her morning coffee, which has never happened to the girl before. And on top of all of this, Juniper met two of the most famous beings in the universe—Mina and Vanitas.

   All in all, today was a weird day.

   She couldn't tame her nerves. Was that what it was? Nervousness? Maybe it was adrenaline from so many things happening in one day. After all, Juniper lived a very quiet, simple life. Too many things happening all on the same day gave her awful anxiety.

   Maybe Juniper was being just a  _little_  dramatic. She couldn't exactly help it. She wasn't used to her life being interesting whatsoever, but after today, Juniper couldn't shake the feeling that she had been waiting for this day her entire life.

   It was stupid to think, wasn't it? Juniper thought so at first; however, she was a firm believer that nothing happened without reason. After all, she was a realist, and nothing interesting  _ever_  happened in Juniper's simple life.

   It made her wonder if the universe was trying to tell her something.

   Today was certainly out of the ordinary. There was no doubt about it. But strangely enough, Juniper was completely hung up on her first conversation with Vanitas rather than anything else.

   It was a stupid, five-minute long conversation, but it was on repeat in Juniper's mind. How could she  _not_  be thinking about it all day long? She had sassed the infamous  _Vanitas_  of all people! She had always been a little sassy and far too witty for her own good, but surely Juniper couldn't have just saved that for the next person she spoke to? This was Vanitas we were talking about! Did Juniper have a death wish or something?

   After Juniper had shot down Vanitas's brief ego-trip, she was sure he was going to murder her, given his long history with the dark side and punching the shit out of anyone who even  _looked_  at him weirdly. When he didn't, Juniper thought he would when he was leaving the office with Mina. When he didn't, Juniper found herself on edge ever since. It just made no sense that he didn't do anything about her witty sass.

   Juniper reached out and flicked the lights on, feeling a bit better now that she could see her surroundings. There was no one in her apartment—just her and her thoughts, as per usual.

   Strolling throughout her apartment, Juniper hummed quietly to herself. Within the next 20 minutes, Juniper slipped off her work clothes and changed into a baggy t-shirt and some of her most comfortable shorts. Socks adorned her feet, allowing Juniper to slip and slide throughout her apartment at her own amusement. Juniper downed a glass of water and threw her medium-length fawn hair into a low ponytail, two thick strands hanging down to frame her angelic face.

   The sound of her phone ringing rather loudly seemed to shatter any sense of peace Juniper had accumulated in the past 20 minutes. She lazily slid toward the counter it sat on, pressed the green answer button, and placed it against her ear. "Hello?" greeted Juniper through a yawn, very clearly tired after a long day.

 _"Hey, hon,"_  Dr. Alluka Bright's voice came pouring in through the speaker.  _"Just checking in since you left after me. You get home alright?"_

   Humming, Juniper reached out and turned off the light in the kitchen. She figured she'd go to sleep after this brief phone call with her mother. "Yeah, I did," revealed Juniper. "Honestly, Mom, I don't know how you deal with so much paperwork. It's exhausting."

   Alluka lightly laughed.  _"I told you to save it for another day,"_ insisted the mother.

   Juniper shrugged despite knowing her mom couldn't see her. "So," began Juniper, "how was meeting with the famous Vanitas? I think he's the last person I was expecting to walk through those doors today."

    _"You know I can't disclose personal patient information, hon."_

   "I didn't say tell me his life story," instantly replied Juniper. The brunette seemed to have a witty response for everything, always managing to get her way. "I'm just curious. You've helped ex-members of Organization XIII. Is he anything like them?"

   Alluka paused, thinking about her response. Meanwhile, Juniper made her way toward her bedroom.  _"Well, he's certainly a character. He's... He's definitely gonna be a tough nut to crack, but he scheduled another session for next week. Maybe he'll revert to the light sometime soon like the former Organization members did."_

   "Yeah, maybe," mentioned Juniper.

    **"The time has come."**

   Juniper's heart rate picked up at the sound of a new voice speaking. It seemed to have come from behind her rather than the phone, but when Juniper turned around no one was there. "Huh?" Juniper wondered.

    **"Your fate awaits."**

   The brunette's eyebrows knitted themselves together. She found herself ignoring her mother as Alluka spoke casually about her day. Juniper lowered her phone and retraced her steps. "What...?" she whispered under her breath.

    **"Two broken souls will piece themselves together and become whole as one. The time has come for you to face your destiny."**

   _"Juni, you still there?"_  Alluka queried, causing Juniper to snap back into reality.

   Juniper placed her phone against her ear again. "Uh, yeah..." Juniper unsurely trailed off. With a puzzled expression on her face, she looked around her room. What was that voice? "My... um, my neighbors are just blasting this weird movie. The walls are so thin it sounds like they're playing it in my living room."

   Alluka chuckled.  _"Is it any good?"_

   Juniper walked into her bathroom, placing her phone onto the counter and turning on the speaker setting. She stood in front of the mirror as she retrieved a makeup wipe. Her grey eyes locked with her weary reflection. She proceeded to wipe the material across her face to remove her makeup.

   "It sounded like a load of gibberish to me," commented Juniper. "Something about two broken souls and destiny."

   _"Lame,"_ teased Alluka, causing Juniper to chuckle. Laughing seemed to ease her nerves, but only for a few seconds before she saw it.

   Before Juniper could reply, her heart stopped beating in her chest momentarily when she noticed it—a pair of eyes were staring at her that wasn't her own. The haunting gaze was attached to a dark, unrecognizable figure standing just a few feet behind Juniper. Gasping, Juniper whipped around to face the figure; however, when she uneasily glanced around, there was no one there... almost like she imagined it.

   Juniper placed a hand over her heart.  _What the hell was that?_

   Interrupting whatever tangent her mother had gone on, Juniper cleared her throat. "Uh, I'm gonna go to bed, Mom. It's been a long day," Juniper said. She tried desperately to suppress the wavering of her voice. Not even letting her mother say another word, Juniper mumbled a "Love you, goodnight" before hanging up.

   Juniper puffed her cheeks out as she released an exasperated sigh. She stared at her reflection in the mirror again. She had seen someone staring at her. She was sure of it! It wasn't a figment of her imagination. It was real! Who—No,  _what_  the hell was that thing?

   When Juniper went to sleep that night, she dreamt of the piercing yellow eyes staring back at her.


	3. Run

   Juniper was a simple girl who lived an even simpler life.

   The newly 19-year-old girl spent her days working two different jobs in order to save up money for college, which she wouldn't be enrolled in until her gap year was over. She doodled all over her mother's paperwork when she was bored, she read books for fun (and was proud of it), and she had a not-so-secret love for baking. She was a quiet and observant person, but could carry some of the most interesting and intellectual conversations when spoken to first. Some would even argue that Juniper was one of the wittiest people in town. Point being—there were no exciting secrets when it came to Juniper Bright.

   She was an open book, which was why Juniper thought she was such a simple, boring person. Juniper didn't mind, however. In an ever-so growing universe, Juniper figured that everyone could use some simplicity every once in a while.

   Sitting at the front desk, Juniper slouched over a stack of papers spread out in front of her. Black pen smudges were stamped along the side of her dominant hand as she mindlessly scribbled hardly legible words across the pages. She had been writing for what felt like hours based off of how severely her hand was cramping; therefore, when the phone began to ring, Juniper nearly cried. She had been looking for an excuse to stop writing, and this seemed to be a phone call from God personally.

   "Dr. Bright's office, this is Juniper," greeted the receptionist, twirling the phone cord with a free hand.

    _"Hey, Juni!"_  a familiar voice chirped into the brunette's ears.  _"It's Hayner. I was just calling to let you know I'm gonna be late today."_

   Juniper nearly cried at the words she was being told. Today had been particularly slow, and the only person who knew how to keep her entertained was Hayner, even if sometimes the distractions kept her from working. "Seriously, Hayner? This is the  _one_  time I wish you were here to distract me." There was a pause before Hayner broke out into laughter on the other end. "What's so funny?"

   _"You just look like you're going to cry!"_ Hayner shouted, causing Juniper to furrow her eyebrows together. What the hell was he going on about?

   Juniper glanced around her surroundings before her eyes fell onto a blond boy standing on the other side of the glass doors, looking in with an extremely amused expression on his face. With a sigh, Juniper hung up and Hayner went strolling into the building. "I despise you," declared the brunette.

   Hayner waved his hand dismissively. "You love me," he insisted.

   "That doesn't sound anything like what I just said," retorted Juniper. She had a grateful smile on her face nonetheless as Hayner plopped himself onto the empty chair beside her.

   "Eh," Hayner responded. "Tomato, to-mah-toe."

   Juniper just chuckled at the blond boy. She had known Hayner for about one month now. See, just before Hayner graduated high school last month, he managed to get selected for a highly competitive position as an intern for Dr. Bright. Had he known that the internship would include working the front desk most days, only shadowing Dr. Bright a couple of days out of the week, Hayner probably wouldn't have taken the internship; however, he was glad he did. If Hayner never took the position, he would've never met Juniper.

   The two had become close friends because they sort of had to. Juniper and Hayner were the only two in the office that were the same age, which was a surprise to the latter. Turns out, Juniper was so smart that she skipped the fourth grade and ended up graduating one year earlier than the other kids her age, which explained why Hayner didn't recall seeing her in any of his classes. Everyone else in Dr. Bright's office was middle-aged or older. Juniper and Hayner were all they had in terms of having friends their age.

   "So how was your date with Olette?" Juniper asked after a short moment passed.

   Hayner seemed to nearly fall out of his chair at the question. He choked on his spit, causing him to cough violently. "W-What?" Hayner managed to squeak. "What are you talking about?"

   Juniper rolled her eyes. She turned her office chair around to face him with a knowing look on her face. "You're joking, right?"

   "What would I be joking about?" Hayner rather defensively inquired. His cheeks were bright red and his brown eyes were wide with surprise. "We didn't go on a... a  _date_. We just went out for breakfast."

   Juniper narrowed her gray eyes at the boy. "You've been talking about this girl nonstop the entire month I've known you, and when you get the balls to ask her out, you expect me to think it wasn't a date?" Juniper deadpanned.

   Hayner stared at her for a moment. They were silent as the two stared intensely at each other. It was like they were waiting for the other to break or something of the sorts. However, when Juniper was very obviously not going to back down, Hayner sighed. "Fine!" he cried out, throwing his hands in the air. "It was a date! But don't tell anyone!"

   Juniper couldn't help the squeal that left her mouth. "Oh my God!" cheered Juniper. "I can't believe it! How'd it go? Did you actually flirt with her or did you trip over your words like you always do when you talk about her? Oh my God, this is so cute! Did you kiss her—?"

   "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Geez, Juni, it was only  _breakfast_ ," interjected Hayner, waving his hands energetically.

   Juniper raised her eyebrows. "So?"

   " _So_ ," mocked Hayner. "I can't just kiss someone like  _her_  on a first date!"

   Juniper clasped her hands together, leaning on them with a wide smile on her face. "Aw, do you even hear yourself?" she gushed. "You two are so cute, and I've never even met her! Hey, you'll invite me to the wedding, right? I have to tell her  _everything_  you've told me at work."

   Hayner's eyes widened. "There is no way in hell you're gonna meet Olette if you're gonna act like this!" he cried out. Lucky for the two, there were no patients, so they could yell as much as they wanted to. "You read too many romance books, Juni."

   Juniper stuck her tongue out at the blond. "There's nothing wrong with it!"

   "Never said there was," Hayner retorted. "But we should really find you a boyfriend sometime soon. Or a girlfriend! I don't judge, you know."

   "Gee, thanks for your blessing,  _Dad_ ," mocked Juniper, causing Hayner to crumble up a sticky note and chuck it at her head. Juniper laughed lightly at the action. She shook her head as the phone beside her proceeded to ring rather loudly again. Picking it up and holding it up by her ear, Juniper greeted, "Dr. Bright's office, this is Juniper."

   Silence.

   Juniper furrowed her eyebrows together. "Hello? Hellooo?" When there was no response, Juniper shrugged and hung up the phone. "That was weird."

   "Why would you hang up!?" Hayner shouted. Before Juniper could ask what he was going on about now, he added, "That could've been your potential new lover!"

   "Shut up and tell me more about your date, jerk!"

 

**[ - ]**

 

   Although today had been one of the unusual, slower days the office had faced, Juniper Bright had experienced weirder things throughout her eventful week. Everyday this week thus far, something weird or unexpected seemed to happen. Two days ago, she ran into Mina and Vanitas on top of a series of very peculiar instances (including the strange shadowy figure watching Juniper that she had refused to speak of to anyone). Just yesterday, little monsters that reminded Juniper of Heartless had begun to pop up around town, but they didn't seem to attack anyone unless they were provoked. And now, Hayner was going on dates with his dream girl after Juniper had convinced herself he'd never get the balls to ask her out?

   Things were just getting odder and odder by the day at this point.

   Juniper was just lucky to live in a world where simply walking the streets could soothe her mind.

   Now that the worlds were all connected via inter-galactic roadways, Juniper developed a new kind of appreciation for her home in Twilight Town. Learning about the existence of hundreds of worlds wasn't exactly a simple thing, but King Mickey had made it a point to make sure every citizen in every world was educated on the matter after the war had ended. Although Juniper was a smart girl, she didn't quite understand some of the specifics regarding other worlds, but as long as she never traveled to them, it didn't matter, right?

   Unlike the other worlds that contained things like demons and ghosts or drugs that could make you big and small, Twilight Town was, for the most part, a normal world if you excluded the many mysteries and secrets it held. Still, it totally beat some of the other worlds in Juniper's rather biased opinion.

   How could you  _not_  like Twilight Town? The world was constantly in a state of radiant golden hues, resembling the time of day some might call twilight. The architecture of the buildings reminded Juniper of an old-timey film, but they still managed to hold a modernized aspect to them. It was extremely easy to navigate, and you could do so via tram, train, car, or even by foot! Plus, the people were friendly, but they weren't obnoxiously sociable. This was a perfect combination for an introverted person such as Juniper Bright.

   Even at night, the world held a magnified beauty to it. The nightlife wasn't all that exciting, but it was perfect for people who liked to stroll to clear their head or simply for the hell of it. Juniper was the kind of person who liked to walk home after work to relax her mind after a long, productive day. Even when she didn't do anything that kept her busy, such as today, Juniper still enjoyed a nice evening stroll.

   But... to be honest... Juniper couldn't completely relax.

   She had been hoping that walking home would do the trick, but it didn't whatsoever. Maybe she was being paranoid, but... something was off in Juniper's world. She felt wrong and unlike herself. She had never felt this alert in her 19 years of living. Maybe it was because of that weird voice she heard and those haunting eyes she saw three nights ago, maybe it was something else. Whatever it was, the feeling of paranoia wasn't fading anytime soon. Juniper just...

   Well, Juniper felt like someone was watching her.

   She had never felt this way before. She wasn't used to extended periods of fear coursing throughout her body. Juniper never had a reason to; she didn't  _think_  so, at least. Whatever it was that seemed to be going on, Juniper knew that it had something to do with the fact that the universe was trying to tell her something. That was the theory she had come up with in her head.

   After all, Juniper was just a simple girl with a simple life. There was no reason for her to be dealing with the theatrics of an exciting life. Juniper didn't  _want_ , nor did she  _need_  that kind of crap in her life. Juniper was fine the way her life had been going thus far.

   Juniper was a smart person. She knew she was. She just needed to decipher all of the peculiarities the universe had been throwing her way. Maybe once she did, she could relax and go back to being a normal girl again. That seemed to be one of Juniper Bright's greater flaws—the fact that she couldn't focus until whatever problem before her was solved.

   Perhaps if she were keen on multitasking, she would have noticed the two guys silently trailing behind her

   Juniper walked forward with her arms crossed over her chest. Her body language seemed to be indicative of the internal issues she was facing. A gentle breeze kissed the pallid girl's cheeks, brushing back her taupe mane. A frown tugged on her lips, eyebrows furrowed slightly as her brain picked apart every theory she had regarding  _why_  this week had been so strange. What did the fates have planned for Juniper Bright?

   It wasn't until she was halfway home when Juniper heard it. A series of grunts followed by two thuds were just loud enough for the brunette to pull her focus from herself to the scene behind her. Stopping in her tracks, Juniper whipped her head around rather quickly before mutely gasping.

   "What... What the hell...?" trailed off Juniper. Her already naturally large eyes seemed to grow in size exponentially.

   Shock scorched her veins, her heart rate picking up instantaneously. On the ground maybe 10, 15 feet away from Juniper were two men. They laid on the ground silently, several injuries attached to their figures from what Juniper could see through the moon's light.

   A shadowy figure stood over their bodies. Juniper couldn't see the figure very clearly, but she could make out the fact that he was a man. He wore a black, skin-tight suit with red detailing on it. Had there not been that red detailing on his suit, the man would have been entirely camouflaged with the darkness around them. As for his face, well, there wasn't much Juniper could see. Not because of the helmet he wore, but because he seemed to have vanished with the blink of an eye.

   "Run."

   The man was now standing directly behind Juniper. She could feel his body heat radiating off of him. The coolness of his voice caused chills to slide down Juniper's spine, the hairs on her arms standing up immediately. When Juniper spun around, the man was still there. He towered over her. Juniper had been expecting to see his face, but it was hidden behind his dark helmet.

   Juniper's body seemed to react faster than her brain had. Without another word, Juniper pushed past the mysterious man and ran. She ran as fast as her body could carry her. Juniper was sprinting so quickly, so ungracefully that her legs nearly caved in by the time she made it to her apartment complex.

   And even then, Juniper didn't stop running. She couldn't even bother to wait for the elevator to open up. Juniper scurried up three full flights of stairs, her adrenaline carrying her all the way home. She was convinced she would have bolted straight through her door had her brain not finally caught up with the brunette.

   Entering her apartment, Juniper pressed her back against the door she slammed behind her. She sunk down onto the floor, her legs finally giving in. She hadn't done  _that_  much physical activity in such a long time. Juniper thought she was going to pass out.

   But her thoughts racing through her mind were enough to keep her awake.

   Juniper ran a hand through her unruly locks. Her heart palpitations drummed into her ears as she desperately tried to catch her breath. Sweat dripped down her back, the air conditioning taking its sweet time to cool her off. She leaned her head against the door with her eyes closed.

   What the hell just happened?


	4. Mommy Problems

   There were many constants in Juniper Bright's life.

   It shouldn't necessarily be a surprise, given that her life had always been so quaint and simple. Some might consider it repetitive, but for Juniper, she didn't mind it. Some people in her town longed for excitement and adventure, especially after everything revolving around the ongoing war between the light and dark was reported in the news. Juniper, on the other hand, would prefer to stay far away from that kind of drama. The simple life was all she desired.

   As aforementioned, there were many constants in Juniper Bright's life. Everyday, she woke up at the same time. She always had the same breakfast, she always spoke to the same people, and she always did the same sorts of paperwork for her mother. She answered phone calls all day long, and when she wasn't working, she entertained herself with a myriad of hobbies. Juniper enjoyed drawing, baking, and reading. Sometimes she liked to practice writing, but only when she was feeling up for it. Juniper's life was so consistent and organized that even Hayner asked her how she did it.

   Truth be told, Juniper wasn't sure. She just... did what she wanted to. It was a strange thought—to not have enough control in your life to live like Juniper. She never wanted to experience anything like that  _ever_.

   Well, actually, there was  _one_  thing Juniper could never quite keep constant in her life.

   "Sorry I'm late, hon."

   Juniper's eyes flicked upward from the book in her hands. A woman strolled forward without a sense of urgency, pulling the white chair before her and sitting down across from the receptionist. The two had decided to meet up at a small restaurant across the street from Dr. Bright's office for their lunch break.

   Juniper pulled her lips into a tight smile. "It's okay, Mom," insisted Juniper with an almost uninterested tone to her voice. "Nothing new." Dr. Alluka Bright gave Juniper a look. It was one of those ' _let's not do this today_ ' looks that all mothers were famous for.

   Juniper was the spitting image of her mother. Same taupe hair, same grey eyes, same bone structure, same mannerisms. They were practically clones of each other from differing time periods. It gave Juniper some peace, knowing that she would probably look just as good as her mother when she was older. The greatest difference between the mother and daughter, excluding their ages, was how Alluka seemed to always have the shadow of a scowl on her face. Juniper had always wondered why that is.

   "So what held you back this time?" wondered Juniper. She stuck her book into her purse in order to give her mother her attention. Alluka seemed to have been distracted by ordering a glass of wine, prompting Juniper to ask again. "What held you back this time?"

   Alluka turned back to her daughter. "Hm? Oh, just a phone call from an old colleague of mine," vaguely explained the doctor.

   Juniper nodded. "Ah," she replied. "Anyone I know?"

   Shaking her head, Alluka admitted, "I doubt it. We knew each other in college." Juniper nodded slowly. "How's work been? Hayner giving you any problems?"

   Juniper hummed. "It's been good. Nothing unusual," briefly answered Juniper. "Hayner's good. You should consider letting him shadow you more often."

   Alluka raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Why's that?"

   The brunette blinked twice. Was the answer not obvious? "Well," began Juniper, "he's worked really hard to get this position, and he talks about how he wants to help people after college like you do. But all you do is have him sit with me for two out of the three days he's around per week." Juniper paused. "I just think it'd be fair if you let him experience your world more often."

   Alluka took a moment to absorb this information before chuckling. "Juni, life isn't fair. He has to earn what he wants," explained Alluka. She took the glass of red wine from the server. "He'll learn, just like you."

   Juniper slowly nodded. "Right," was all she managed to say in response. Silence grew between the two once more.

   It should be known that Juniper Bright loved her mother. She would be an entirely different person without her mother in her life. She was grateful for Alluka and she always would be. Things would be different in a way Juniper never wanted to imagine without her. However, there had always been something unusual about their relationship that Juniper had never noticed until today... when Alluka had Juniper waste nearly an hour waiting for her mother to show up for lunch.

   Maybe Juniper was just noticing it now because she had been on high alert for three days now. That had to be it. Her anxieties and nervousness made Juniper much more observant than usual.

   Simply put, Juniper's relationship with her mother was very... strained.

   Don't get Juniper wrong; she loved Alluka with all of her heart. She always would. But... for the past 19 years, Juniper had always interpreted her relationship with Alluka as healthy, strong. They had always got along well, like how mothers and daughters were supposed to. However, now that she was here, Juniper couldn't help but notice the strain in their relationship.

   It felt  _forced_.

   Juniper initially thought it was just because she was a maturing woman who needed privacy and the expected phase of edginess all young adults went through at some point in their lives. That was canceled out when she noticed that this had been constant throughout her entire life. Wasn't that strange? Juniper had never found anything consistent about her relationship with her mother or her absent father, but even then, there was consistency in it.

   Like... Like it was all  _planned_  or something...

   But why would the universe plan something like that? What was the point of it? What was Juniper not understanding? Whatever it was, Juniper found it annoying. She hated the universe and all it did for her. What was the point of giving her such a simple life for 19 years, only for her to start opening her eyes much later? What was the point of anything at this point?

   Juniper wasn't sure.

   Standing up, Juniper seemed to gain Alluka's attention once again. "Where are you going?" wondered the woman.

   Juniper peered down at the watch on her wrist. "You made me wait my entire lunch break for you," revealed Juniper with a subtle edge to her voice. "I finished eating 20 minutes ago. But it was nice sitting with you for a total of four minutes." With that being said, Juniper sighed and walked away from her shocked mother.

   Juniper was never this disrespectful to her mother in her entire life, even during her pre-teen edgy phase. But this week wasn't exactly kind to her and it was starting to catch up with her three days later. She couldn't help but feel irritated with her mother after everything she had dealt this week.

   It didn't occur to Juniper until just now that she and her mother's relationship was so forced and detached that she hadn't told her mother a thing about what was going on in her life. She hadn't said a word about Mina and Vanitas, her friendship with Hayner, or any of the weird incidences that happened...  _including the fact that she was nearly kidnapped by two strange men last night, only to be saved by a strange man wearing a fucking bicycle helmet._

   Wasn't it strange that Juniper didn't feel the need to tell her own mother about all of these incidences? Juniper thought so...

 

**[ - ]**

 

   Naturally, the nightmares during the day weren't enough to deal with, so they had to continue in Juniper Bright's dream world.

   It was normal for humans to be unable to recall the majority of details in their dreams; however, Juniper should have known better than to think she would be able to forget the horrors that faced her the moment her head hit her pillow.

   _"STOP! Don't fucking listen to a word that witch says!" a girl's voice shouted. Desperation clung to the heated words she exclaimed. Juniper Bright stood tall despite her hands shaking so violently she could hardly feel them._

   _She stood in what looked like a cave. The rocky texture of the cavernous walls was made more prominent by green or purple flames. The air was warm, but the wind blowing every which way was freezing cold. Bodies were sprawled out on the ground, alongside strange creatures Juniper recognized as Heartless._

   _"J...Juni, what are you... what are you—?" stammered one of the beings on the ground._

   _"What the hell are you doing here?" another voice sharply cut in. Juniper's heart sunk in her chest at the question as she stared directly at a pair of golden eyes. They were full of rage, but Juniper could see the worry embedded within his stare. "Don't you ever fucking listen?"_

   _Juniper clenched her jaw. Her heart pounded aggressively in her small body. Her jaw was clenched so tightly she was sure she would unintentionally injure herself. Dirt and blood caked her body from head-to-toe. Juniper's grey eyes remained locked onto the golden ones. She hoped he could feel what she was feeling, which was nothing but sincerity and desperation underneath her explosive trepidation._

   _Swallowing the knot in her throat, Juniper snapped her gaze to a dark figure standing not too far away. "Oh? What's this? Trying to play the hero card, I see?" a taunting voice asked. "Why don't you just go home? Why didn't you just take me up on my offer?"_

   _"Leave, Juniper," the same boy said. This time, it was less angry and more distressed, eager._

   _"Don't kill him," pleaded Juniper. "Don't kill him... any of them."_

   _The figure just released a peal of hearty laughter. "Or what? You'll kill me?"_

   _"I have a better offer," Juniper found herself saying without thinking twice about it. She nearly released a stream of curse words right then and there. Maybe he was right. Maybe she really needed to start listening to what her brain was telling her rather than her desperate heart. "If you... If you let him go... If you let them all go alive, I'll do it. I'll do what you want."_

   _"Dammit, you idiot!" the boy ahead roared. He was so close to finishing this thing once and for all. Why was Juniper so stubborn? "You'll die!"_

   _"Deal."_

   _The last thing Juniper remembered was feeling fire burn her from the inside out, a blood-curdling scream echoing in their ears._

   _It was too late._

   _They lost._


	5. June-Bug

   The universe, Juniper Bright had concluded the following morning, was a bitch.

   You could ruin her days, you could make her think she was being stalked by a weird shadowy figure, you could nearly have her kidnapped and potentially killed on more than one occasion in the span of a week, you could even awaken the mommy issues she never knew she had, but if there was one thing the universe couldn't do, it was ruin her nights to prevent her from peacefully sleeping. Well, the universe certainly  _could_ , but that didn't mean Juniper was necessarily happy about it and the discomforting nightmares it brought in the evening.

   The nightmare Juniper had been so wonderfully graced with made little-to-no sense. Actually, scratch that—it made less than absolutely no sense. She had been picking it apart all morning after getting over the terror that had lingered in her waking life, and she just couldn't figure it out. Being able to miraculously recall all of the dreadful details of the nightmare did nothing to aid Juniper in her attempt to analyze it. If anything, she felt more muddled than she had all week, which was really saying something! What the hell was the universe trying to tell her?

   None of it made sense, Juniper had decided. She was perfectly fine with coming to terms with the nonsense her life had become this week; however, the one thing that she couldn't shake off was that boy.

   Now that she was awake, the faces she saw in her nightmare were beginning to become more recognizable. She couldn't quite see a lot of them, but two of them certainly stuck out. She saw Mina and she saw Vanitas amongst a group of individuals. She couldn't see the supposed antagonist of the nightmare, but Juniper was secretly glad for this. She didn't even want to try to imagine what kind of horrific face her brain would have pieced together.

   Juniper wondered why her brain would create such a vivid dream. Obviously, she would never be in a situation like the one she had dreamt up, but it did leave her rather curious. Juniper speculated if she should start seeing a therapist for these kinds of things.

   "Geez, did you get  _any_  sleep last night?"

   A muffled groan rumbled from Juniper. She leaned against her hand as it was propped up on the counter. The dark circles beneath her eyes were more prominent than ever. Juniper yawned. "I'm waiting for the coffee to kick in," she grumbled.

   Hayner nodded. He ruffled her head. "Maybe I'll take over your phone duties for the day," suggested Hayner. "It'll give you a chance to nap or something."

   Juniper shook her head. "You're sweet, Hayner, but I'm good," insisted the brunette. "If anything, the ringing will wake me up." Hayner gave her an unsure stare, skeptical.

   "Juni, you know I love you," began Hayner, "but you look like you're about to pass out."

   "I'll be fine, I swear," promised Juniper. She sighed when his worried stare didn't leave his face. "If I fall asleep, I won't get mad at you for pranking me. You'll get to say 'I told you so' and everything."

   Hayner snickered at her attempt at a compromise. She was very obviously not in her usual headspace. An alert and attentive Juniper would  _never_  give Hayner permission to prank her in such a vulnerable state. Instead of replying, Hayner reached out and ruffled her hair with another light chuckle as Juniper lazily reached out to swat his hand away.

   Her eyes trailed over to the computer screen. Her own screams echoed in her mind. Juniper couldn't seem to shake off the lingering feeling of fear her nightmare had induced last night. Luckily, Juniper was so exhausted that she couldn't feel a thing at all.  _Blessings always come in disguise_ , Juniper supposed.

   "No way! Ven, is that you?" Hayner asked from beside the receptionist.

   The brunette inquisitively pulled her gaze away from the screen to see a golden blond boy walk up to the front desk. He seemed to contrast the gloominess of the ebony-haired boy next to him. The golden boy wore a big smile on his face, doing some kind of universal handshake all boys seemed to know. "Good to see you, Hayner!" gleefully replied the boy, to which his darker friend just rolled his eyes.

   Juniper's eyes trailed back and forth between the two boys. She recognized Vanitas instantly. It was hard not to, even if he wasn't famous across all of the worlds. He looked at her through his golden eyes with an intense stare. His wrathful voice roared in her memory,  _"Don't you ever fucking listen?"_

   The receptionist snapped her attention back to the computer, ignoring his stare as she checked Vanitas in for his scheduled appointment. "Juni, these are some old friends of mine," Hayner said to the brunette, causing her to look at the boys again. "This is Ventus." Hayner's smile faltered slightly as he added, "And this is his brother, Vanitas." He cleared his throat. "Uh, guys, this is Juniper."

   Juniper offered them a small smile. "I met Vanitas earlier this week," she revealed to her friend. "It's nice to meet you, Ventus."

   "Call me Ven!" the bright boy insisted.

   "Ven," softly repeated Juniper. "My friends call me Juni." She reached out and shook the hand Ventus had offered her. She glanced back at Vanitas. Strangely, seeing his face made her feel more energized than she had before. "Good to see you again, Vanitas."

   "Is it?" the snarky teenager sarcastically mumbled.

   Not thinking anything of his response, Juniper reached over and grabbed one of the many clipboards that were placed on her side of the counter for each of the day's expected patients. "You're early, but that's alright," commented Juniper. She left Ventus and Hayner to momentarily catch up. She made her way over to the door all patients entered through. "If you'll just follow me through here, Dr. Bright will be with you in just a moment."

   Vanitas hardly glanced back at his brother before stuffing his hands in his pockets and lazily walking over to her. He took his time in the process, but Juniper remained indifferent. She kept up her small smile that was always on her face. Once Vanitas joined her, Juniper silently guided him to her mother's office.

   "I just have to run some tests to check your vitals. Is that alright?" Juniper asked.

   Vanitas narrowed his mesmerizing golden eyes at her. "Do you have to say that  _every_   _time_?" he unenthusiastically deflected, taking a seat.

   Juniper shrugged. She assumed that by his sitting down that he was silently answering her question. "Well, I'm getting paid for it. Might as well," she humorously replied.

   Now that Juniper was looking over Vanitas up close a second time, she was beginning to grasp how the papers and the news didn't do him justice whatsoever. Vanitas was absolutely stunning and alluring. His skin was snow white, allowing the subtle scars that had accumulated over the years to stand out. She wondered if there were even worse injuries that hadn't healed properly underneath his tight, black clothing—which only seemed to make his muscles bulge in his favor.

   His golden eyes pierced through the souls of anyone he looked at, like he was searching for all of your secrets. How was it possible for someone with such a blackened soul to have such golden eyes? It was almost like his eyes were an illusion for potential prey to get caught up in. His lips were paper-thin and his pointy, ebony hair cast a shadow over his face. A scowl was tattooed on his handsome features.

   "You aren't scared of me," Vanitas stated after a moment, almost disgusted. "Why?"

   Juniper, who had been in the process of checking his blood pressure, hardly spared him another look. She needed to focus on writing down his vitals,  _not_  admiring his physical appearance. "Why should I be?" Juniper asked with a calm voice.

   It was true—Juniper had decided she wasn't scared of him. Did that make her crazy? After all, Vanitas was easily one of the most dangerous people in the universe, and here she was, talking to him like... like... Well, if Juniper was being honest, this was how she spoke to all people. She was polite, but assertive and unafraid to speak against anyone despite her quiet demeanor. She treated everyone like they were her equal.

   "Don't act cute," Vanitas sneered. He was tired of how she could deflect anything without thinking about it twice. He took it as a sign of high intellect and intelligence. Well, at least, she was as intelligent as a normal,  _boring_  human being could be. "You know who I am."

   "Mhm," hummed Juniper, running more brief tests. "You're Vanitas."

   Vanitas rolled his eyes. "Cut the shit," he snapped. There was an edge to his voice that would have scared Juniper had she not heard him at his angriest in her dream. Real or not, there was no form of Vanitas that was scarier to her than his role in her nightmare. "You know who I  _am_. I can tell. You know who I am and the things I've done. Why aren't you scared?"

   Juniper scribbled some more information down on his clipboard. It was starting to drive Vanitas crazy how unfazed she was.

   "Are you insinuating that you plan on hurting me? Because I could go to the police with that information."

   "Let's do it, baby, I know the law."

   Shock colored her angelic face for just a moment as she looked back up at Vanitas. His lips were drawled out into a menacing smirk. "I'm not surprised," Juniper coolly mentioned, causing Vanitas to roll his eyes again. He had seen her in one of her prime states of fear two nights ago. What was it going to take for this girl to break?

   "Is that supposed to offend me?" Vanitas shot.

   "It can be whatever you want it to be," Juniper simply mentioned. "I mean I can't even begin to imagine what your criminal record looks like, though I suspect it's lengthy."

   "You know what else is lengthy?"

   This time, Juniper was the one to roll her grey eyes. " _Cute_."

   Vanitas stood up as Juniper walked over to put away some of the equipment she had used. He seemed to follow her. "You callin' me cute, June-Bug?" Vanitas queried, rather repulsed at the comment despite the clear sarcasm.

   Juniper immediately spun around, and that was where Vanitas knew he had got her. "Don't call me that," Juniper demanded.

   "What?  _June-Bug_?" he purposefully repeated with a smirk. "Why not? It's  _cute_."

   Juniper shook her head. She peered up at him with an unenthusiastic look. She could tell he was amused by the spark of joy in his eyes. Did he enjoy being such a pest?

   "You're pretty annoying, you know that, right?" Juniper told him. She had to look up at him due to his towering stature. Though this wasn't totally uncommon, given how Juniper was rather short.

   "You callin' me pretty now?"

   Juniper clenched her jaw. Now, she was beginning to find him annoying. She had never met someone who fought to one-up her as hard as Vanitas did. He was just lucky she enjoyed a challenge.

   "Do you just hear what you feel like hearing?" Juniper queried. She placed a hand on her hip.

   Vanitas's smirk seemed to grow. "It's gotten me this far, hasn't it?"

   "Standing around in a therapist's office?"

   "Talking to a pretty girl with an ugly secret."

   Juniper found herself frozen in her place. Now, she was nervous and almost unsure of herself. She knew for a fact that she didn't have an ugly secret. If she did, she was convinced she wouldn't be able to hold it in. Just what exactly was Vanitas getting at here? And why did he care so much anyway?

   After a short pause, Juniper managed to spit out, "I don't have an ugly secret."

   Vanitas released a taunting laugh. "Everyone's got a secret."

   "Is that why you're in a therapist's office?" Juniper retorted, feeling relieved that she could recover after being briefly taken aback.

   Vanitas hummed to himself. "Something like that," he vaguely replied. "Play your cards right and maybe you'll find out why."

   Juniper tilted her head to the side. "Or I could just ask your brother," she pointed out.

   "Or I could just kill you before you try," he darkly suggested.

   The blood in Juniper's veins ran cold for a moment. It was true. He technically could just murder Juniper without another minute to spare. That was until it dawned on her. "If you wanted to, you would've done it already," Juniper realized.

   Vanitas snickered. "What makes you think a guy like me doesn't like to make his prey anticipate the end?"

   "Because a  _guy like you_  doesn't have the patience to spare," Juniper countered.

   Vanitas paused.  _Damn_. She was right. How the hell did she manage to leave him speechless yet again? It made no sense to Vanitas. He was  _never_  the one to become dumbstruck like that. What was so special about this  _stupid_ ,  _boring_   _girl_  that allowed her to do such a thing? It made no sense to him.

   Instead, Vanitas leaned back casually. He reached out and flicked her head rather hard, causing her to skewer her face up momentarily. "Touché, June-Bug," he said. "Touché."

   Juniper stared at him for a moment longer, to which he returned with an intense stare. It was almost like the two were trying to figure out and understand each other. When Juniper realized she had been standing around longer than necessary, she let out a quiet huff and walked out of her mother's office with her chin held high. She didn't bother to say another word to Vanitas. She just needed to get out of there.

   Shutting the door behind her, Juniper paused. She puffed her cheeks out with a sigh. Her hand brushed through her taupe hair. Why was her heart beating so quickly? Did Vanitas make her nervous? Was she irritated and exasperated by their interaction? Why was Vanitas so insistent Juniper had an ugly secret, and why did he want to know what it was? Juniper was just a simple girl. She didn't have the energy to keep up any kinds of secrets to that magnitude.

   Vanitas made no sense to Juniper Bright. Contrarily, Juniper Bright made no sense to Vanitas.

   Juniper shook her head. She knew that their interactions were meaningless. He was just a patient at her mother's office. There was nothing more to consider.

   Making her way back to the front of the building, Juniper was somewhat surprised to see that Hayner was missing. She furrowed her eyebrows together.  _Where could he have gone?_

   "He went to the bathroom," a voice said, almost like the owner of it had read her mind. Juniper's gaze snapped upward to see Ventus casually sitting around with a magazine in his hands.

   "Oh," was all Juniper said. She cleared her throat, sitting down in her original chair. "Thanks, Ven."

   Ventus offered a genuine smile. Juniper couldn't help but smile back. His light radiated off of his body. It was hard not to want to smile at him. "You seem less tired now," commented Ventus. "I suspect my brother had something to do with it?"

   The thought of Vanitas made Juniper tense slightly.  _He was a headache with legs_ , Juniper had decided. Though, Ventus was technically right. When the brothers had walked in, Juniper was a zombie; however, being around Vanitas seemed to energize her again.

   "N-No," stammered Juniper. "Your brother's just, a, uh... a real piece of work. He's a decent conversationalist though, I'll give him that."

   Ventus looked genuinely surprised. His eyebrows were arched upward; his big blue eyes round with shock. "You mean he's actually  _talking_  to you?"

   Juniper stitched her kept eyebrows together. "Why wouldn't he...?" trailed off the brunette.

   Ventus shrugged. "He usually just hisses at people until they figure out he doesn't want to be spoken to," explained Ventus as if this was a universal concept.

    _Of course_ , thought Juniper.

   "It took me weeks after the war ended before he'd talk to me and my friends, Terra and Aqua. But... he actually  _spoke_  to you? Did he speak to you last time, too?" continued Ventus.

   Juniper blinked twice. "Uh, yeah," confirmed the brunette. Now, she was a little nervous. Was a chatty Vanitas a bad thing? Should Juniper be worried?

   "Huh..." trailed off Ventus before chuckling. "That guy sure is a weirdo." Juniper felt herself calm down when she heard the boy chuckle. She lightly laughed in response. "Listen, Juni—Can I call you that?"

   Juniper nodded. She made a mental note at how Ventus had actually made it a point to ask if she was comfortable with him using a nickname, whereas Vanitas just did whatever he wanted.

   Ventus smiled at the affirmation. "I just wanted to thank you," he finished.

   Juniper tilted her head to the side. "Thank me...?" she repeated.

   Ventus nodded. "Vanitas thinks you're...  _interesting_ , to put it nicely," explained Ventus. "He thinks you're interesting enough to keep coming back here until he figures out your "secret" or whatever it is he thinks you're hiding." Juniper tensed. So he really was convinced Juniper was hiding something. "But I'm just grateful because I don't have to push him for therapy anymore."

   "Huh..." trailed off Juniper.

   She had been thrown off. So he wasn't just saying things to mess with her... Vanitas really thought she had some ugly secret. But... why? It made no sense to her. What was it going to take to convince Vanitas that Juniper was just a normal, boring girl?

   "Well, you're welcome, I guess."

   "Well look who's being social for once in her life!" Hayner greeted as he rejoined the front desk.

   Juniper seemed to glance back at him with a pointed gaze. "I can be social!" defended the brunette, almost surprised by her own energy. Vanitas really  _had_  awakened Juniper.

   Hayner shook his head. "You only talk to people when spoken to, you little introvert," he teased.

   "When are you gonna learn that "introvert" isn't an insult?" Juniper countered with a laugh. Ventus, who had been silently listening, chuckled at their banter.

   Rolling his eyes, Hayner grabbed Juniper and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, trapping her. "Juni here's like the smartest person in Twilight Town. I swear, no one can ever beat her in any ole argument," Hayner proudly bragged to Ventus, causing the brunette's cheeks to stain pink.

   Ventus's eyes seemed to light up. "Really? You've got to meet our friends, Aqua and Mina. They'd appreciate having "intellectual" conversations with someone who speaks their language," admitted the boy, rubbing the back of his head.

   Juniper pushed Hayner off of her as she pointed out, "Actually, I met Mina on Monday."

   Ventus's smile grew. "Perfect! You're already part of the gang, then!" he cheered. Hayner grinned from ear-to-ear before his eyes widened.

   "Wait, Mina was here on Monday?" repeated Hayner. Hayner only worked Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. It made sense that he hadn't seen her since he wasn't at work on Monday. "She's one of my best pals! You should've said something!"

   Juniper scoffed. "Since when are you friends with the Guardians of Light, huh? Maybe  _you're_  the one who should've been telling me this stuff," she pointed out. She paused for a moment. Juniper found herself tilting her head to the side. "Hang on a sec," began the brunette. She pointed a finger between the two blond boys. "How do you two know each other? How do you even know the Guardians of Light anyway? And does Ven know about you and Olette—?"

   Interjecting rather aggressively, Hayner said, "O-let's tell her the story, yeah? Before you ask anymore questions..." Juniper snickered at Hayner's horrible attempt to transition the name Olette into whatever mumbo jumbo just left his mouth. He shot her a brief glare.

   Hayner and Ventus proceeded to explain to Juniper how they met, which was through Roxas. The story was rather confusing for Juniper to follow. They were lucky the phone wasn't ringing every five seconds (for once) because Juniper needed all of the concentration she could muster up to follow the story of how Hayner and Ventus became friends.

   Now, the average citizen who wasn't involved with the war only knew so much. They knew about the worlds and how they were all connected through inter-galactic roadways, and they knew about Heartless, Organization XIII, and Dusks, as well as Nobodies. However, when you get into the specifics, such as how one of the Lights, Kairi died, thus creating a Nobody named Naminé, only to be brought back by Sora killing himself to revive Kairi, only for a Nobody called Roxas to be created, despite Sora coming back to life...

   Well, let's just say the average person would have trouble following.

   They were just lucky that Juniper Bright was an intelligent individual who could keep up with this kind of thing, especially when you had two of the least qualified people to tell the story. Hell, she was so smart that she could figure out most mathematical theories in a matter of minutes.

   "So Roxas became a real person during the  _second_  Keyblade War?" Juniper asked. Ventus and Hayner nodded. "Because he was too busy being stuck in Sora's heart during the first takedown involving Organization XIII... with you," she looked at Ventus, "and Xion?" They nodded again. "And Xion's a real person now, too?"

   "Basically," answered Ventus.

   "And you two ended up meeting  _after_  the second Keyblade War because Sora and Riku invited you to a beach party on Destiny Islands...?" added Juniper.

   "Mhm!"

   Juniper threw her hands up in the air. "Geez, you went through  _that_  much exposition just to tell me you met at a beach party!?" cried out Juniper.

   Hayner and Ventus exchanged glances. It seemed that both of them realized that they could have just kept the answer short and simple by saying "beach party on the islands" rather than going through an entire timeline's worth of information. Juniper shook her head at the two. It had taken nearly the entire hour that Vanitas was in his session with Dr. Bright to explain everything.

   "You're lucky we didn't even go into Vanitas and I's history," Ventus added with a relieved chuckle. "But enough about the past. I wanna know what's up with you guys." He looked in Hayner's direction with a sly smirk—one that reminded Juniper of Vanitas's all too well. "Like, what's up with you and Olette, hm?"

   "Goddammit!" Hayner whined as Juniper and Ventus broke out into laughter.

   Though what Ventus said seemed to have stuck with Juniper. What did he mean by "you're lucky"? What was so bad about their past that they didn't even have time to touch on it?

   Juniper was left more curious than before.


	6. Waiting Room Chats

   Vanitas didn't put up with a lot of shit.

   Actually, scratch that. Vanitas didn't put up with  _any_  shit.

   Could you blame him? After all, when you're basically one of the strongest beings in the universe (He liked to make that point more times than necessary), it's hard not to put up with anything you don't want to. Besides, with a temper like Vanitas's, he didn't seem to have the patience to even bother  _trying_. Therefore, you could see why a guy like Vanitas was so frustrated after his first week in therapy at Dr. Bright's office.

   Let's get this straight: Vanitas hated Dr. Bright. He loathed everything about that stupid therapist. He swore on his life that her degree was falsified at some made up university—that was how much Vanitas disliked the woman. He didn't understand half of the things she said. It all sounded like she was pulling advice and coping mechanisms out of her ass. Vanitas couldn't put his finger on it, but something about Dr. Bright was just annoying. She was arguably his least favorite therapist yet, which was seriously saying something after he nearly killed therapist number four.

   Vanitas had tried to make it a point to Ventus and the others that he was only going to therapy this time for his own amusement. He was growing antsy at the thought of not knowing what that stupid receptionist's secret was. More than that, he was agitated that no one else seemed to recognize the darkness in Juniper Bright.

    _"Don't be ridiculous, Vanitas. Everyone has some darkness, including even the purest lights. You're reading too far into this whole thing."_

   That was what Ventus had told Vanitas following the darker half's second therapy session with Dr. Bright. Vanitas felt like he was trying to prove to a grown adult that Santa Claus was real (which, to be fair, Santa  _is_  real, but that isn't the point). The point is that Vanitas couldn't decipher how or why no one else was even the least bit curious as to why a common citizen like Juniper Bright held such an intense darkness in her heart. It was so... so...  _familiar_  to Vanitas. It was like he was staring into his own soul when he saw her.

   But that was ridiculous! Why would  _Juniper Bright_ , a stupid and boring dweller of light, contain darkness so intense that it reminded Vanitas of his own? What was she hiding from the worlds? It made no sense to him.

   Vanitas was used to getting his own way. That was clear. He didn't put up with anyone's shit. Rather than that, he just  _took_  everyone's shit in the more literal sense. He did whatever he wanted and didn't care for the consequences, so why was he so reluctant on just beating the shit out of Juniper Bright until she told him what he wanted to know?

   Was it because Ventus was rubbing off on him? No, that was stupid. Vanitas was nothing but pure darkness. The light couldn't influence someone like  _him_. That was something that only happened once in a blue moon... to people that simply weren't like Vanitas.

   Was it because he knew that Juniper didn't know what he was talking about? No, that was an idiotic thing to think. Vanitas would know. Manipulating and lying was his forte. Why wouldn't someone hiding a dark secret be at least  _decent_  at lying? After all, Vanitas knew that stupid girl was smart... smart for a normal human being, at least. She wasn't someone Vanitas thought would be as awful at lying as Sora or Ventus. No, Juniper was an intellect...  _again_ , for a senseless human being.

   Then... why hadn't Vanitas just forced it out of her already?

   Maybe it was because Vanitas enjoyed the chase of it all. He had been so desperate for something stimulating to happen that he was going to hold onto every second of it. He had lived a rather boring life over the course of the past three years. Maybe he was just letting this go on for so long (then again, one week isn't  _that_  long. Or, perhaps it is for someone of Vanitas's nature) because he knew he'd miss the excitement that came with a good challenge.

   Actually, now that he was thinking about it... that did seem to make the most sense. Vanitas decided to go with that excuse.

   "Oh, damn..." Ventus inaudibly trailed off beside Vanitas, who had been lazily staring up at the therapist's building like he did every time he stopped by. The darker half squinted unenthusiastically at his brother. "Terra's calling me. It's probably something dumb, but I should take it. You won't kill anyone if I leave you alone, right?"

   "Why? Do you want me to?" Vanitas haughtily tested. Ventus narrowed his cerulean eyes—the ones that Ventus, Sora, and Roxas all seemed to share—at his brother. Vanitas hummed. "Relax,  _Venty Wenty_ , I'll behave." Ventus fell silent, staring at his brother a moment longer before sighing in relief. Vanitas sauntered forward before adding a "Maybe" just to piss Ventus off.

   When Vanitas entered the building, his golden eyes landed on the quiet receptionist sitting by herself. She was leaning over something with her chin sitting in the palm of her dainty hand. Her eyebrows were pushed together, the tip of her tongue poking out from between her lips due to her intense concentration. Vanitas meandered in her direction. She didn't even seem to notice him until he leaned against the counter and forcibly coughed rather loudly.

   Juniper jumped up at the noise, a soft gasp leaving her mouth. Her grey eyes were wide until she realized who was standing before her. A little smile found its way to her face like always. "You're early...  _again_ ," greeted Juniper. "Excited to see me?"

   She was right once again for starters. Vanitas had been early to the past two appointments, as well as this one. He'd probably be early for all of the ones that followed (which were strictly on Mondays and Thursdays—and today was Monday) if he wanted to figure out the reasoning behind her darkness.

   "Get real, June-Bug," Vanitas scowled. "I'm excited to get this bullshit over with."

   Juniper seemed to hum in response to his words, rolling her eyes at the nickname she quite obviously disliked—not that Vanitas cared. She dropped the pen that had been in her hand and leaned over the papers before her, covering them from Vanitas's view. She reached out and typed a few words into the computer to check him in for his appointment. "If you hate it here so much, why keep coming back?" Juniper had queried whilst doing so.

   "I'm not leaving until you tell me your secret," Vanitas reminded her, annoyed that she wasn't getting it through her thick skull. "I know you've got one."

   "Yeah? What makes you think so?" Juniper challenged.

   Vanitas scoffed. "Are you shitting me? You might be a common freak of light, but there's a strong darkness in you that even surprised  _me_."

   "Is that supposed to offend me?"

   "It can be whatever you want it to be."

   Juniper raised an eyebrow at the familiarity of the two sentences. The roles had been flipped. "Nice to see you actually pay attention to things," commented Juniper. She paused. "Look, what's light without darkness, right? Is that enough to satisfy you?"

   Vanitas sneered, "Tsk... You sound like my brother."

   "I'll take that as a no..." trailed off the brunette. Juniper shrugged. "Your brother's nice."

   "That's what everyone says," grumbled Vanitas. It wasn't supposed to be loud enough for her to hear, but he knew she had managed to hear it. Vanitas paused and glimpsed around. Usually, there were a few people working further behind Juniper; however, today the office was practically a ghost town. "Say, where is everybody, June-Bug?"

   Without skipping a beat, Juniper picked up her pen again and started to use it again while answer, "Oh, I just kidnapped everyone and took them to my secret underground lab where I experiment on people for fun. It's really quite easy to do since no one suspects a nice girl like me to do terrible things like that." She glanced back up at Vanitas, who was staring at her critically. "What, not convincing enough?"

   "You're a terrible liar," Vanitas critiqued.

   Juniper just laughed at his commentary despite knowing that he wasn't being humorous and that he was actually quite serious. "Well, to answer your question, Taiga gave birth on Saturday, so she's on maternity leave, Kurapika's at a wedding in Wonderland, and Hayner only works Tuesday through Thursday. So... it's just me today."

   Vanitas was silent. He was satisfied enough with her answer. If anything, it just meant he could annoy her until she was furious enough to reveal her secret. Yes, that was what Vanitas had stooped to. Can you tell it's been awhile since anything interesting has happened in his life?

   "Dr. Bright's in with someone right now, so you'll have to wait until they're done," mentioned Juniper. "You're welcome to have a seat in the meanwhile." Vanitas grumbled something under his breath that sounded like a " _whatever_ ", but Juniper wasn't quite sure.

   Through her peripheral vision, Juniper watched Vanitas sit down on one of the chairs in the waiting room. Not thinking anything of it, Juniper got back to doing what she had been doing moments ago.

   Truthfully, Juniper hadn't been doing anything interesting before Vanitas strolled in. She had checked in a few patients throughout the day, made casual conversation (but only if they initiated it), and finished her daily paperwork early this morning. Now, she was doodling all over the ridiculously large pile of sticky notes she and Hayner had stocked up on at the beginning of summer. That being said, Juniper was actually a bit thankful Vanitas had shown up when he did. She was, to say the least, bored.

   If you  _must_  know, this week was going significantly better than last week. Today was Monday and while most people despised Mondays, Juniper was thankful because it meant that she could start fresh after a rather strange week. The strange occurrences had stopped unfolding throughout Juniper's day, and while that made her days a bit more uninteresting again, Juniper was thankful. She wasn't ready for an adventure that could be comparable to a video game.

   Thunk.

   Juniper paused upon feeling something hit the side of her head. She slowly looked up, her eyes landing on a crumpled up ball of paper. Looking closer, Juniper recognized it to be a page that had been ripped out of a magazine. She peered over where Vanitas had been slouching in the chair. Surely enough, a torn apart magazine sat in front of him.

   "You know magazines are for reading, right?"

   "I don't  _care_."

   Without saying another word, Juniper just ducked her head down and focused on the drawing she had been working on when he arrived. It was of Twilight Town. More specifically, it was the skyline of the world.

   Thunk.

   Juniper looked up again, spotting Vanitas staring at her smugly. How did he manage to hit the exact same spot twice? She glanced over to the door where Ventus had been standing around outside with his Gummiphone on his ear. Juniper figured he wouldn't be coming inside for awhile longer.

   So instead, Juniper went back to drawing on the small sticky note she had been working on. She knew Vanitas was only throwing things at her for his own entertainment.

   It was weird. Although they didn't really know each other, Juniper somehow felt comfortable around him. She wondered why.

   There was a pause in the air. Juniper could hear the nearly silent rip of the magazine page, the crinkling of it scratching her eardrums. Juniper placed her pen down and reached up just seconds before it hit the side of her head again. She looked back at Vanitas triumphantly. He looked puzzled. Vanita scanned his brain before realizing that this girl was observant. She had noticed how he managed to throw the balls of paper with perfect accuracy and managed to catch it the third time he did it. Vanitas was pleasantly intrigued by the stupid human.

   "You know, I bet someone was going to read that one day," Juniper mentioned, nodding toward the torn up magazine.

   Vanitas made a face. "Why would anyone want to read this garbage?"

   "Well, not all of us have interesting lives," pointed out Juniper. "It's what normal people do."

   "Live vicariously through others?" Vanitas crinkled up his nose and scowled. "Humans are so pathetic."

   Juniper had to bite her tongue. She nearly asked him what he was if he wasn't human, but something in her didn't want to find out. Perhaps that was why so many people feared Vanitas. He was too mysterious.

   With the blink of an eye, confusion washed over Juniper as a subtle breeze pushed past her. She looked up, only to find Vanitas standing directly before her. She jumped. "How...? How did you...?" stammered Juniper.

   Vanitas leaned against the counter. "Don't tell me you're impressed with  _that_  old trick."

   "Well, I'm sorry if I've never seen anyone move  _that_  quickly in my life—Hey!" Juniper was startled once again as he seemed to teleport behind the counter. He leaned over and carelessly picked up the sticky note she had been doodling on. Juniper placed her hand over her racing heart. "Jesus, you really have no interest in warning people before you do things, do you?"

   "What's this?"

   Vanitas seemed to look genuinely intrigued at the drawing. Juniper stared at him in awe. How did  _anyone_  manage to keep up with this boy? "It's, um, it's the skyline of Twilight Town," Juniper answered, still a bit alarmed.

   Vanitas furrowed his ebony eyebrows together. "This is a drawing," he stated matter-of-factly.

   "Well, obviously," confirmed Juniper.

   "How did you draw it without seeing it?"

   "...I drew it from memory," answered Juniper honestly. Now, she was just confused. "I have a perfect view of it from my apartment."

   Vanitas stared at it for a moment longer. For the first time, Juniper could see an innocent trace of curiosity in his intimidating stare. He held it close to his face, almost like he was trying to savor it.

   Juniper remembered reading in an interview Ventus did for the paper that Vanitas had a difficult time assimilating into a normal life because he had missed out on so many common things most people already knew about. Though Vanitas was ridiculously perceptive, intelligent, and shrewd, there were a lot of normal things that didn't make sense to him because he had spent his entire life being whipped into a perfect weapon.

   The door swinging open grasped Juniper and Vanitas's attention. A somewhat muscular teenaged boy with blond hair and blue-green eyes walked out. On his head was a distinctive black beanie. "Hey, Juni," greeted the boy casually, making his way toward the front desk.

   Juniper gave him a soft smile. "Seifer," matched Juniper. She noticed the calmness in his face. "I see your session went well." The blond nodded. Juniper had known Seifer for a few months now. He had been visiting Dr. Bright to get a handle on his anger issues. "Do you need to schedule your next appointment?"

   Seifer paused upon noticing Vanitas standing beside her. Fear struck his features. He tensed instantly. "Uh... N-No," Seifer managed to spit out in the midst of his nervousness. "Already, um, already done with Dr. B. I'll see you around..."

   This time it was Juniper's turn to be perplexed. She looked back at Vanitas, who hadn't stopped glaring holes into the back of Seifer's head. He continued to intensely glare at Seifer for no reason until he left the building. When he was gone, Vanitas said, "I don't like him."

   "Huh?" replied Juniper. "You don't even know him!"

   Vanitas shrugged. "Don't need to." He closed his fist, crushing the sticky note drawing immediately without realizing. "He's weird."

   "I'm starting to think you just dislike most people," opinionated Juniper.

   "Well, look who's a  _smarty pants_  now," Vanitas very obviously mocked. He reached out and flicked her head, to which Juniper hopelessly swatted his hand away. "You're weak."

   "You're a brat," copied Juniper. Vanitas shrugged. As if on cue, Ventus strolled in, beaming as per usual.

   "Hey, Juni! Hope my brother wasn't too much trouble," Ventus cheerfully greeted. He made his way over to the front desk as he spoke, not even bothering to question why Vanitas was on the other side of it.

   Juniper hummed. "He's a delight," she humorously replied. Ventus didn't seem to pick up on her sarcasm at first, but when he did, he laughed.

   "You should try living with him."

   "I don't think I could survive with random things thrown at me all day long."

   "You get used to it, actually."

   Vanitas clenched his jaw at the two interacting before him. He shouldn't have been surprised they were getting along. Juniper was a nice enough person, judging by how she managed to make small talk with most people, and Ventus was... well, Ventus was Ventus. Still, something in him seemed to awaken for the umpteenth time. It was resentment.

   Yes, even after all this time, Vanitas still managed to resent his brother. He couldn't help it.  _Everyone_  loved Ventus. It made him want to punch a hole into the wall. What was so great about Ventus anyway?

   Actually, Vanitas could answer that question himself.

   "Vanitas! Right on time, as per usual," Dr. Bright's voice came from the door Seifer had walked out of. She stood with a smile on her face. "Why don't you come on back with me? I'll run your vitals and we can get started."

   The way Vanitas's half-heart sunk in his chest seemed to set off an alarm in his head. Why had he felt so disappointed when he realized Dr. Bright would be running his vitals instead of Juniper? Did he want another minute with Juniper or something? Why was he thinking this— _of course_ , he wanted another minute with Juniper. The sooner he figured out her secret, the sooner he could forget all about this dreadful experience and go back to terrorizing people like he always did.

   Teleporting over to the woman's side, Vanitas hardly glanced back at Juniper and Ventus. They were still happily talking away. Vanitas stared down at the sketch he had unintentionally crumpled in his hand and scowled.

    _The sooner he figured out Juniper's secret, the sooner he could forget all about this dreadful experience._  Though, Vanitas couldn't help but think that this was going to take a lot longer than anticipated.

   Vanitas was annoyed.

   The next couple of hours that followed were nothing but uninteresting. As a matter of fact, as soon as Vanitas and Ventus were gone, things had dulled exponentially. Juniper would even take the unsettling background noise of Dr. Bright and Vanitas screaming at each other (this was something that seemed to happen for the past three sessions now) over the silence that filled the office. And although Juniper had a list of things she could have been doing, she just couldn't get her mind off of Vanitas. She couldn't quite figure out why.

   Was it because Vanitas was basically a celebrity? Not only was he a celebrity, but he was a notorious denizen of darkness who played a key role in the second Keyblade War. He was a bad guy. He wasn't someone Juniper should have been openly speaking to without a care in the world. Vanitas wasn't someone Juniper should have been subconsciously attempting to befriend. Though strangely enough, Juniper didn't seem to care all that much.

   It had been three years since Vanitas crossed to the light. Sure, he still actively relied on the darkness, but he was on the light's side now, right? Why did people care so much about it these days anyway? The war was over, wasn't it?

   Juniper figured that people feared Vanitas solely because not only was he one of the only villains from the war who survived, but he was also made from pure darkness. Juniper didn't fear the darkness as much as people expected her to.

   Perhaps she was just reckless and stupid, but Juniper had always understood that light cannot exist without darkness and vise-versa. Even if it had horrifically impacted the lives of many in negative ways, darkness didn't need to be feared. Was that why Juniper didn't mind speaking to Vanitas as though he were anyone else?

   But that was the problem—Vanitas wasn't just  _anyone_. The news and history altogether could attest to it. The families and citizens of countless worlds that had fallen victim to Vanitas's chaos could attest to that. Vanitas was dangerous. He was a menace to society. Or, at least, he was. After all, Vanitas had been laying low for the past three years. Was he planning something, or had he really begun to change for the better?

   Juniper wasn't sure what to think.


	7. Nancy Drew

**7\. Nancy Drew**

   Juniper had been having these weird thoughts lately.

   They were the kind that kept her up at night, the kind that had her pondering the secrets of life. Well, they weren’t thoughts _per se_ , but rather, instincts. Like… Like a sixth sense, if you will. It was like Juniper had a little person in the back of her head talking to her. No, she wasn’t schizophrenic or experiencing questionable hallucinations or anything like that. She was still the same as she’d always been, but now, there was another voice in her head. Sorta.

   It all started the evening of the day in which she was introduced to Vanitas and Mina at Dr. Bright’s office. That evening, Juniper had a thought. But it wasn’t really _her_ thought. It was like someone else was telling her this aforementioned thought, but in the sound of Juniper’s own voice. The thought had uncontrollably come to her out of nowhere, and _boy_ , did it scare the living hell out of her.

   Juniper didn’t know where it came from. She was honestly too startled by the voice itself to realize that it had been _her_ voice. It was _her internal voice speaking without Juniper telling it to_. Does that make sense? Because… it didn’t make much sense to Juniper. All she knew was that she had a… thought… an uncontrollable thought, except it wasn’t really her own thought that she came up with herself. But it still came in the sound of her own internal monologue. Like an instinct. Like a sixth sense. Like her sub-conscious developed its own mind or something.

   Many nights ago, her internal monologue preached, **“The time has come. Your fate awaits. Two broken souls will piece themselves together and become whole as one. The time has come for you to face your destiny.”**

   Now, Juniper wasn’t stupid. She was actually really smart. She might’ve taken a few days to get over the initial shock of what had happened, but she was able to figure out a number of things after calming down.

   Firstly, some weird shit was happening to her. That one was pretty clear. _And_ the universe had planned for it to happen _now._

   Secondly, whatever was happening to her, it had something to do with the famous heroes of light (and darkness).

   Specifically, Mina and Vanitas.

   Even more specifically, Vanitas.

   It was like meeting them had triggered something within Juniper that she couldn’t explain. Everything started when she met them. _Plus,_  Juniper had proof this all had something to do with them, _specifically_ Vanitas.

   The weird voice in Juniper’s head (which was really just her own voice speaking whenever it wanted to) had said something about her fate and how “two broken souls would piece themselves together.” Now, Juniper was well-educated on the matters of the second Keyblade War and those who were involved, _which included Mina and Vanitas._  She knew Mina wasn’t a broken soul because as the Great Divide, she needed to remain whole and balanced in all aspects in order to maintain stability between the light and dark.

   But do you know who out of all the war’s soldiers _wasn’t_ whole; a pitiful broken soul just like Juniper allegedly was?

   That’s right: Vanitas.

   She didn’t know a lot about Vanitas. All the media said was that Vanitas and Ventus were once the same person before being brutally ripped apart, the light and dark splitting into two entities. That was honestly all Juniper needed to know to realize that whatever was happening to her, Vanitas was somehow involved.

   Now, she had initially thought that Ventus was involved, too; however, when she learned that the light had rewarded Ventus with the ability to become whole, Juniper knew that it was just Vanitas. Vanitas was the only broken soul she knew of, at least.

   And judging by Vanitas’s weird obsession with Juniper, he sensed something was going on, too. He just didn’t know what it was, just like her. For all Juniper knew, he was dealing with his own weird shit that he wasn’t telling anyone about.

   Speaking of Vanitas’s weird obsession with Juniper… Vanitas had a weird obsession with Juniper. And it really freaked Juniper out, especially knowing that all of his little suspicions about her and some ugly secret might be a lot more accurate than she was anticipating.

   All of it made no sense to Juniper, which was why she was so obsessed with piecing it all together. Clearly something was going on, and it was something her newfound superpower couldn’t explain… yet, hopefully.

   Yes, Juniper had gone as far as call her weird internal monologue a superpower.

   Because, in all honesty, it was a superpower… in Juniper’s biased opinion. It would spit out cryptic messages in her head and leave Juniper to solve them. And the weirdest part about it? The cryptic messages _always_ regarded the future.

   The first one was about Juniper’s fate and broken souls intertwining. She still wasn’t sure what that was all about yet, but she was working on it. But the ones that came after were a lot easier to decipher.

 **“You might see it in the sky, but it is not the sun nor is it the moon. Owning proper armor would be advised.”** — Later that day, Twilight Town was hit with a lightning storm that lasted for three days.

 **“Don’t push her far or you may find your adventures to be through. But on the draw, the strike, the streak, the Lady smiles on you.”** — Hayner was struck with luck (Or “Lady Luck” as Juniper’s monologue called it) when Dr. Bright let him shadow her 3/3 days he was working this past week rather than just one.

 **“If you have a head and a tail, but lack a body, you can still make someone’s day.”** — At work, Juniper and her coworkers stumbled upon a random Quarter and flipped it to decide who would bring everyone lunch that day. Juniper was deemed lucky.

   Honestly, deciphering these cryptic messages made Juniper feel like Nancy Drew.

   In a way… and trust her, she hated even thinking it, but… Juniper felt like she could predict the future. She wasn’t sure how any of it was possible, but that was the best way she could explain these weird thoughts of hers. That being said, she would _never_ say it out loud.

   Or so she thought.

   Now that Juniper was thinking about it, her thoughts were very quickly becoming her own personal hell. For example, a week ago, Juniper was graced with one of her cryptic, future-predicting messages.

 **“When death comes knocking at your door, he won’t wait for you to answer it,”** was what her brain had told her just last week. Of course, Juniper was beyond petrified because she had absolutely clue what it meant other than her impending doom. Just your casual Friday-morning thoughts. No big deal…

   Then, two days later, Vanitas of all people went knocking on her door. Not only that, but he furthermore used one of his portals of darkness to break in after Juniper didn’t answer the door (because she was in the shower! Vanitas didn’t seem to care, though).

   Of course, Juniper had been terrified on several different levels when she actually processed that _Vanitas_ had _broken into her fucking home_ , but she was even _more_ terrified when she realized her brain had predicted the future _again_!

   So, it was true. Juniper’s brain was delivering cryptical puzzles for her to solve, and these messages somehow always predicted the future whether she managed to solve them or not.

   And somehow, that wasn’t even the weirdest part.

   No, the weirdest part was that Juniper _actually_ confided in Vanitas over what was happening. She had completely skipped over the shock of her apartment being broken into (Vanitas explained he only did it because she wasn’t answering the door. When asked how he knew where she lived, all he said was “I know things” and when he was asked why he was at her apartment, he said he was “bored”), and gone straight to freaking out over her “cryptic superpower.” Of course, Vanitas freaking out was really just Vanitas standing around scratching his head in confusion.

   Vanitas had been absurdly thrilled about this, additionally, because he just _knew_ something was going on with Juniper, and now she was just easily confiding in him (like she had a choice)! But now, new questions were arising. The biggest one was: What the fuck is going on?

   And so, Vanitas and Juniper were back to square one. Only this time, they were at square one together.

   Since Vanitas broke into Juniper’s home, the two had developed a newfound bond. They were both curious about Juniper’s strange "superpower", and Vanitas was more than eager to figure out what was going on with her, _especially_ if it involved him. The last thing Vanitas needed was dying _again_. Of course, Juniper didn’t need to know that detail.

   But days had gone by and they were still clueless as to what was going on. All that had changed, really, was the fact that Juniper and Vanitas were actually, sorta, _kinda_ friends now.

   “You know, going through my things isn’t going to do anything for either of us,” commentated Juniper from inside of her apartment. It was Saturday night, and she was spending it playing Detective with Vanitas just like they had every night since he broke into her home, which had been about a week. Let it be known that Vanitas had broken in every single night since the first time he did it. He really had no shame about anything.

   “It’ll help my boredom,” unenthusiastically remarked Vanitas, his voice husky. His back faced her as he went sticking his nose in everything she owned. He let out a forced cough, dust bunnies attacking his respiratory system. “Christ, do you _ever_ clean back here?”

   Juniper eyed all of the miscellaneous items he had been pulling out of her spare closet in the living area. “I haven’t seen half of this stuff since I moved in last year,” she mumbled.

   “Consider doing some spring cleaning, yeah?” Vanitas added.

   “Right, because _that's_  what I should be worrying about,” Juniper sarcastically muttered, taking a long sip of her tea. It was the way she liked it, the same cup of Chamomille tea she drank every night. “It’s not like my life has just been flipped upside down or anything like that."

   Juniper still couldn’t believe that she and Vanitas were actually kinda friends. Well, they were really just two very confused individuals who wanted to figure out what was going on, but Juniper liked to consider Vanitas a friend now. Even if Vanitas constantly says things like, “I told you there was some weird shit going on with you” every chance he gets.

   “That’s the spirit, June-Bug.”

   Oh, there’s also _that._  No matter how much Juniper begged, she just couldn’t shake off the _stupid_ nickname Vanitas had created for her. She despised it, which just made him love it more. He really was a professional asshole.

   Shaking her head, Juniper policed Vanitas carefully. He had been rummaging through the small closet for the past 15 minutes rather than helping Juniper brainstorm ideas for what was going on. Vanitas and Juniper had been theorizing ideas for days now. They weren't getting anywhere. It was honestly incredibly frustrating. She had suggested that they ask Ven or any of the heroes of light, but Vanitas was opposed to receiving help from anyone that wasn't himself. While Juniper was disappointed, she somehow understood what he meant by that. She couldn't explain how, though.

  Vanitas grumbling to himself grabbed Juniper's attention. She watched as he pulled out a small box from the back corner of the closet, his face skewered up in disgust as he turned around. He held up the weathered box. "Seriously? Of course, you're into this shit," criticized Vanitas.

  However, Juniper's eyes lit up. It was a small box that contained a deck of cards, the game called 'Uno.' The corners of her lips flickered upward. "Are you kidding? I  _love_ Uno!" Juniper defended proudly. "When I babysat the kids in the building, we'd spend hours playing it."

  Vanitas's gold eyes widened. "Hours?" he repeated, mostly to himself. A shiver ran down his spine. How could any sensible person play a card game for hours?

  Juniper hummed. "Mhm! It's  _fun_ ," she insisted. "We can play if you want."

  Vanitas's face contorted with distaste. "Absolutely  _not_."

  Juniper laughed. She straightened her posture, perking up. "Aw, c'mon!"

  "No."

  Juniper paused for a moment. Part of her really just wanted to see if she could get Vanitas to actually listen to her and do something she'd be interested in doing, rather than just ignoring her half the time. She was feeling inspired. She leaned back in her seat. "Oh, I see," said Juniper. "I should've known better."

  Now, Vanitas was curious. He raised an eyebrow as he glimpsed back at her. "What?" he sneered.

  "Oh, you know..." lingered Juniper. "I just didn't think  _you_ of all people..." She paused, letting out another little laugh. "It's crazy."

  Vanitas narrowed his eyes at her. "Spit it out." He wasn't in a joking mood, it seemed. Then again, was he ever?

  Juniper shrugged her shoulders subtly. "You don't wanna play 'cause you're scared you'll lose," Juniper stated matter-of-factly. She had to force herself not to smile with satisfaction when it looked like Vanitas was going to burst a blood vessel at her comment.

  "Huh!?" responded Vanitas, somewhat enraged by the concept. He waved his hand, turning his body to face her completely. "I can beat you at anything. Easy."

  Smirking, Juniper shrugged. "Prove it,  _coward_ ," she teased.

  Vanitas didn't reply for a long minute. The more he waited to speak, the more Juniper found herself wanting to back off. Had she hit the wrong nerve? Was that insensitive to say? Judging by the look on his face, Juniper couldn't tell. He was too hard to read.

  Then, Vanitas snorted. "You almost got me there, June-Bug."

   _Dammit_ , thought Juniper. He was a lot smarter than she was willing to admit. So, Juniper decided to turn the conversation in a different direction. "We've been trying to figure out an explanation for what's happening with me for days. Maybe it's a lot simpler than either of us thought," Juniper finally suggested. "Maybe I'm just losing my marbles. You know, like, maybe I'm just going crazy."

  Vanitas tsk'd. "Doubt it," he replied honestly. "With all that darkness in you... No way. There's got to be a better explanation. I  _know_ there is."

  Juniper fell silent momentarily. The brunette furrowed her eyebrows together as she glanced down at her nearly finished cup of tea. She hated...  _that_. She hated the idea that there was actual darkness swirling inside of her without her even really knowing it. It wasn't just any normal darkness that every person in existence possessed. It was a darkness that was so intense, so gruesome that even  _Vanitas_ was surprised by it when they first met. Something about it didn't sit right with her.

   And, naturally, Vanitas could tell.

   "What now?" Vanitas demanded, an edge to his voice. His tone caused Juniper to jump slightly in her spot on the couch. She whipped her head upward to see him sneering at her.

   "N...Nothing," Juniper lied.

   Vanitas rolled his eyes. "Did you forget you're a bad liar?" Vanitas taunted.  _She might be just as bad as Ven_. Vanitas nearly laughed at the amusing thought.

   Juniper pressed her lips together, shaking her head once more. "I just..." she trailed off. She really didn't know how to say any of this without sounding offensive. "It's just weird having all this... darkness in me. I mean, I never felt it. I still don't. I still feel like me, just... confused. Maybe even scared? I don't know. Is that weird?"

  "Your brain spits out riddles for you that predict the future, and you're worried about the darkness?" deadpanned Vanitas. He snorted. "You're weird."

  Juniper released a quiet sigh. "All I've ever known is that darkness is bad and that light is good," mumbled Juniper. "It's just... concerning..."

  "Because you don't want to end up like me."

  Juniper's entire body tensed up, her eyes widening instantaneously. "No! No, it's not that! I—"

  "It's alright," interrupted Vanitas with an edge to his voice. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Geez, you think I'm offended by _that_? Not everyone can handle being me, you know. Really, it's admirable if you can. Trust me, Juni, if you're worried about your darkness being a... _problem_  or whatever, don't."

  Juniper could have laughed at his attempt at... whatever that was. "...Thanks, I think," she mumbled, finishing up her tea.

  Vanitas observed her warily. He stared at her carelessly, not particularly concerned by if she felt uncomfortable under his stare (which she did). Something in him felt... wrong. He wasn't exactly concerned with her feelings at all, but... something in him felt like it was  _his_ fault that she was dealing with this. And he hated feeling at fault, even when he was the bad guy in everyone's books. He only ever wanted to feel powerful, strong.

   Besides, he knew that this was Juniper's first... rodeo, if you will. She wasn't used to the curiosities of light and dark or wars or anything like that. She was just an ordinary girl who got dragged into his world against her will. Maybe it was Ven finally rubbing off on Vanitas, or maybe it was the fact that Vanitas really did have the capacity to understand other people's feelings. Whatever it was, it caused Vanitas to clear his throat and hold up the box of Uno cards. "...I guess one game won't hurt," he confessed.

  Oh, how he was going to regret saying that.

  Now, Juniper Bright had the upper-hand for a number of reasons. The first one being that she had once played Uno for five hours whilst babysitting, meaning that she had tons of experience against kids (and let's be honest, Vanitas enjoyed acting like a child from time-to-time). The second one was the fact that Vanitas surprisingly didn't know how to play. When Juniper made a comment about this, it... well...

  "What do you mean you don't know how to play Uno!? Did you not have a childhood or something?

  "Actually, yeah."

  Juniper quickly learned to start biting her tongue more times than not.

  Juniper wasn't surprised when Vanitas was nothing less than uninterested initially. Vanitas was the kind of guy who enjoyed games of destruction and doom, and while Uno didn't seem like it at first, this game was right up his alley. As she explained the rules, Juniper tried to make the game seem interesting by making things up along the way, saying things like "This is the game that ends all friendships." Of course, Vanitas would reply with things like "We aren't friends", but she knew he was just a little bit interested. From the way his piercing eyes flickered with excitement and how the corner of his lips tugged upward, Juniper knew that she had baited him seamlessly.

  For the next hour, though, Juniper Bright's apartment was nothing short of a warzone.

  Because while Juniper liked to think she was a put-together individual, something about games made her nasty side jump out. And Vanitas was naturally a very competitive person. Could you blame him? The unsettling combination of Vanitas and Juniper was volcanic. Vulgarities and blasphemies rumbled throughout the building. Cards were violently thrown into the space between them as they sat on the carpeted floor.

  "You're just making rules up!" Vanitas howled as he was hit with yet another reverse card. Since they were playing with only two players, a reverse card acted as a skip. "This is bullshit!"

  "All rules are made up, jackass!" Juniper shouted. "Boom, Uno, bitch!"

  Vanitas's eye twitched. "No way," he denied. He shook his eye, his black hair shuffling with his movement. "Let's play again."

  Juniper wore a satisfied smile. She couldn't tell if she was more excited over winning or if she was thrilled to see that Vanitas was actually doing something she was interested in. Half the time, Vanitas seemed to ignore her or belittle her. He was just lucky Juniper really loved a challenge, and to her, Vanitas was the challenge of her dreams. Of course, she would never tell him that. He didn't even consider her a friend, after all. But maybe one day in the future she would. She doubted it though.

  "I've beat you  _four_ times now," she pointed out. "Do you really wanna lose again, Vanitas?"

  Vanitas glared at her. He paused for a long moment, actually contemplating it. His head was raging with a relentless ache and he had a feeling he would implode if he saw another +4 card... Maybe playing again  _especially_ against Juniper was a bad idea...

  With a huff, Vanitas grumbled, "This game must be stupid if someone like  _you_ can win."

  Reaching out and grabbing a chip from the large bag beside her, Juniper rolled her gray eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, cry-baby," she taunted, chewing and swallowing the snack quickly.

  Vanitas shot her another glare. He hated how cocky she had suddenly gotten. It was like he  _actually_ missed when she was quiet, much like a baby deer. Then again, he  _did_ admittedly have fun while playing. Of course, he would never tell her that. But maybe one day in the future he would. He doubted it though. Rather than responding, Vanitas grabbed one of the few grapes left in the bowl near him and tossed it at her face. However, he was pleasantly surprised (and somewhat puzzled) to see that she caught it with her mouth.

  "Huh?" he muttered. "You actually caught it?"

  Juniper flashed a big smile at him, a piece of the broken grape stuck to her tooth. He rolled his eyes at the sight, even if she didn't know why he was doing so. "It's my secret talent!" she proudly declared. "I can catch  _anything_ with my mouth."

  "Pfft," doubted Vanitas. " _Right_."

  Juniper scoffed. "I can!"

  "Just 'cause you did it once doesn't mean you can do it again, June-Bug," jeered Vanitas. "You just got lucky."

  "Oh, yeah?" Juniper retorted, feeling somewhat challenged. She was started to realize that Vanitas as a whole constantly made her feel competitive. "Throw another one."

  Vanitas stared at her for a long minute. Was he really about to entertain this thought? Juniper really was a strange person. Then again, it wasn't like they were getting very far doing anything else regarding their issue at hand. Plus, he was actually a little intrigued to see if she really could catch another grape. Her mouth was so small, it was almost laughable.  _Eh, anything to keep me entertained_ , was all he thought before tossing another grape at her mouth. As she anticipated, Juniper caught it.

  "HA!" she declared. "See? Caught it!" Vanitas narrowed his eyes at her. She had gotten a lot more comfortable with him than either of them were expecting. Then again, Vanitas wasn't exactly uncomfortable either. Maybe it was because her darkness felt incredibly familiar to him.

  " _Or_ I just have really good aim. Ever think of that?"

  "Hm, no, but you know what I  _have_ thought of?" fired back Juniper. She opened her mouth to reply something that made her seem even more like a smartass before her face fell. Her smile faded almost instantly, her eyebrows furrowing together. Then, she mumbled something under her breath that was incoherent to the prince of darkness.

  "...What?" he queried, genuinely curious. The innocence that hit his face in reaction to Juniper's little moment would have grabbed her attention had she not been more concerned with something else. "Spit it out. C'mon. Use your words, Bug."

  Juniper narrowed her eyes at the shorthand version of the nickname. "Seriously?  _Bug_? I think I actually prefer June-Bug instead of that," she complained.

  Vanitas wore a sly grin almost immediately. "I'll let the HR department know," he mocked. "Now, what is it?"

  Juniper sat up straight, her legs crisscrossed over one another.  **"The small winged one will offer a handful of warmth. Do not resist it,"** recited Juniper.

  Vanitas made a face at the cryptic words. "Huh? Is that one of your riddle things?"

  Juniper nodded. "Uh-huh," she confirmed. "Small winged one? Handful of warmth? What, is a hummingbird gonna set my home on fire?" Vanitas actually snorted in amusement at the dark joke.

  "God, I hope so. Things have been  _seriously_ boring around here," commented Vanitas. When Juniper glared at him for the millionth time that night, Vanitas raised his hands up in defense. "It's called a joke, June-Bug."

  " _It's called a joke, June-Bug_ ," mocked Juniper. She had deepened her voice that sounded  _nothing_ like Vanitas, but it was close enough for her own satisfaction.

  "I don't sound like that," pointed out Vanitas.

  Rolling her eyes, she sighed, her posture deflating. "None of this makes sense. Why can I suddenly... spit out riddles that predict the future?" she wondered.

  "That's what we're trying to figure out, stupid," retorted Vanitas.

  "I wasn't talking to you!"

  "Then why'd you say it?"

  "It was a rhetorical question!"

  "Oh, so now you're making things up."

  Juniper sighed. "You're hopeless," she muttered, shaking her head. "Someone needs to put you in school or something."

  Vanitas made a face at her comment, not having it in him to make a snide comment. He was feeling lazy after the Uno fiasco. "Maybe we just need to start keeping track of your little riddles?" he suggested. "Like, maybe if we put them all together, we'll get an answer to our questions?"

  Juniper was quick to judge. "That's honestly—" Then, it hit her. That... really wasn't a terrible idea. "—not a bad idea, actually."

  "Aw, I'm blushing," he sneered. Juniper stared at him blankly. "What?"

  "Nothing," she admitted. "I'm just afraid that if I roll my eyes again, they'll literally roll into the back of my head and I'll go blind."

  "God, I hope that happens," Vanitas shamelessly said. "I'm bored."

  Juniper just shook her head. She might have been hopelessly confused regarding this whole situation, but at least she had someone to keep her company. Then again, given that her company is Vanitas of all people, was Juniper really  _that_ lucky?

  She didn't know it then, but Juniper was incredibly lucky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY it's been SUCH A LONG MINUTE since i updated!! i'm always thinking about this story and i miss it all the time, but i wanna do it and vanitas justice, which is why i haven't been updating as often as i'd like. does that make sense? i hope so lol. i know this chapter isn't AMAZING, but i really just wanted to get something out there.
> 
> SO if you don't mind, leave a comment on what you think so far? what's up with juni and vanitas? i mean, i know, but yall don't lmaooo
> 
> i hope yall are having a great day or night, wherever you are <3


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